The worst effects of the obesity epidemic are now being felt by the nation's poor - a group that consumes a disproportionate amount of fast food. Without access to proper medical care or nutritional advice, poor families often turn to fast food as a source of comfort and consolation. The food is cheap and convenient; the toys that come with the kids' meals are free.

The rate of adult-onset diabetes among inner-city children is now extraordinarily high. Other harmful effects of obesity, such as high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease, are also becoming more commonplace. Severely obese American children, aged 6 to 10, are now dying from heart attacks caused by their weight.

I must never take my niece to McDonald's again, but then that only makes her unhappy. The dilemma of being an uncle.