To answer the question of the thread, no, it shouldn't be a crime. But it's a shame to see how fat American's have become. I spent most of the last 9 years in the south (Gainesville, Fl), and it's even worse down there because of all the sweet tea and fried crap.
I know a lot of people have disorders, disabilities, or genetic predispositions that cause them to be overweight or obese, and for those people I feel sorry.
But a lot of America's weight problem is just laziness. It's much easier to swing through the McDonald's drive through than it is to go to the grocery store, buy food, and make yourself a sensible meal. My two best friends struggle with weight issues, and they often use the excuse of "it's so cheap to hit up a fast food joint," or "it's just easier to eat out." But I call BS. If you go the grocery store once a week, it's much easier to buy healthy food, and your average cost per meal will go WAY down. Sure it may take you an hour or two on Saturday or Sunday, but then you can prepare every meal at home throughout the week and eat much healthier. But you have to want to.
Children pattern themselves after their parents. If mom and dad are fat and lazy, so often the children are too. It's starts with the 'rents. Step it up.
My girlfriend is Operations Manager and a personal trainer at Bethesda Sport & Health here in the DC area, and she has been helping my friends plan smart meals and workouts. It's much, much easier than people think to eat and live healthy. People just have to want to. Too many Americans just don't care.
And Quake, if you can run a mile in 7:58 then I can eat 10 Big Mac's in 10 minutes. I'm no body builder or tri-athlete, but I spend about 9-12 hours a week in the gym, both lifting and running, and I can barely hit an 8 minute mile. I'm 6'3 220 and only 7% body fat. But hey, if you're for real then maybe should head over to the Swamp and try out for the mighty Gator football team!
I heard a lot of people asking if they are overweight-
Here a few links to Body-Mass Index (BMI) info. The first is a BMI calculator, the second is some Wikipedia info.
Advanced bmi calculator of Body Mass Index
Body mass index - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
It's pretty cool, but you have to take into account muscle mass, too.
Also, glycemic index (GI) is very important in your diet as well. Eating foods low on the GI help keep you trim. I'm no expert on this, but I've learned a lot from my girlfriend. Just trying to pass along info.
The Glycemic Index