Anybody who has thought about the childhood obesity problem sees clearly that the population needs to eat less of foods like soft drinks and sugared cereals. The industry would be a lot smarter to come up with new, healthier products than continuing to defend the bad old ones.

As childhood obesity and type 2 diabetes continue to rise at unprecedented rates, it is crucial that families make nutrition and exercise an everyday priority. There are many simple changes that can become lifelong habits. These include making neighborhood walks part of a family's routine, making fruits and vegetables available at home and at school and reducing the amount of sugar in beverages and baked goods.

It's a bold and sweeping step that industry and childhood obesity advocates have decided to take together.

Childhood obesity is a huge systemic problem. It's a pandemic to a certain extent.

It's going to get worse before it gets better, and we can't really wait for reductions in childhood obesity to fix the problems because it's an immediate safety issue. We definitely need to see seats that have been designed and tested and approved at higher weights.

The childhood obesity trend is on the rise and has been for decades.