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The surprising statistic that teenage calorie consumption has remained stable while obesity has burgeoned and that physical activity among this group has fallen sharply may well suggest a cause and effect, but such a conclusion is premature and untested, at best. I wonder whether closer analysis of food intake would demonstrate an overall shift away from fat and protein and toward increased simple and complex carbohydrates. Recent well-designed studies have shown the superiority of low-carb, high-fat diets for weight loss and cholesterol control in adults. Our market shelves now abound with many more low-fat and “healthy” products, in which sugars and other carbohydrates replace fat, than they did 20 years ago.

Lee F. Weisman
Charlotte, Vt.