First!
And this is just a load of crap... Seriously. Parents, make the kids exercise. Then they'll gradually get less fat!

1 word. HYPOCRITS!!!
Thank you.

Blackice,
This is beyond Facepalm.

Keane first saying "It makes no sense to single out any one single cause of obesity, which is a complex problem."

Then turns around and "Keane added that if Mayor Newsome really wanted to fight fat, he would go after video game companies which, the lobbyist said, induced children to stay indoors instead of being “outside burning calories.”"

I mean, seriously, how totally STUPID is this guy?

Nightwng2000
NW2K Software

Not stupid at all. He was misquoted/insufficiently quoted in the original article. His full statement, which is QUITE reasonable, here:
http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/kotaku/full/~3/203230800/soda-says-sorry-to-v...

Of course. Games are loaded with sugar. STAY AWAY FROM GAMES!

Damn, talk about the pot calling the kettle black.

*cracks open a Mountain Dew*

Citizens: Blame lazy, stupid parents for child obesity

Eh, even their response seemed kinda weak to me. I think they'd still rather blame games so people pay attention to them and not soda... but then they realized that gamers are known for their conspicuous consumption of Mountain Dew and it'd be wise to not piss off a large group of customers.

If only they actually used real sugar in their drinks, I might actually still drink the occasional soda.

Okay after reading the article at the Kotaku website, everything make sense now.

Misquotes are common throughout the media. Heck, we should've known this by now. Jack Thompson and Lyndon Larouche misquote their sources all the time.

Boy do I miss GameFuel.

Obesity is not a complex problem. Sure there may be lots of contributing factors, but the following comparison explains the cause of obesity in most people:

calories in > calories out (on average).

I wonder of this man has ever heard of the Wii?

*stammers*

This is nuts... hypocrisy and backstabbing at its purest level.

Not only are they turning their heads away from the aforementioned Halo 3 deal, but if they JUST SAID that picking out a single 'cause' of obesity is not a smart way to end the problem, then why are they actually doing so?

Just... no. You know what? No.

Foot In Mouth disease can strike any of us... I suppose it hits politicians and lobbyist even harder.

When I read this (just the title) my hand flew from my knee to my face for a facepalm.

@Dog_Welder

Its not the sugar, you could do that all day an not deal with weight issues, its the high fructose corn syrup.

rtrete

@Myprok
Pop is another name for soda.

oh by the way, Kotaku got a response from the guy quoted here and this entire quote was user after he said that to blame soda [pop dammit] would use the same FLAWED logic as has recently been lobbed at the video game industry. I mean, really, who are bigger customers of their product than gamers? He's not against us guys, he's being grossly misquoted.

I used to weight 180 at about 5"11 when I was 16-18. I drank more than 3 cans of Soda a day. Sometimes even up to 6 or more. And I played video games.

Some things happened in my life and I stopped drinking Soda completely and switched to water whenever I got thirsty, and worked out. And now I weigh 140, and I'm 19 now. I still play games.

My dad's a Pediatrician who has been doing a lot of studies on childhood obesity.

Guess what? Medical literature links HFCS to the problem far more than lack of activity.

Of course, you do need to get out and play outside, lard balls. Leave your handhelds inside while you do it.

"GP: So, if the soda manufacturers are so concerned about video games and obesity, why are they cross-promoting with popular titles like Halo 3?"

This right here is the only argument needed.

Soda...pop...you say "potato" - I say "french fries" - isn't it amazing how word selection - and quotes taken out of context - can spur furious debate? ;)

If they really want to solve the child obesity thing, then maybe they should just tax or fine the parents. It's simple: their kids have to weigh in once each new year...if they are determined to be overweight, then the parents would have to claim it on their tax return and pay extra. Some people can never motivate themselves on the road to responsibility, so you have to mess with their paychecks...(maybe I'll call Spitzer and see what he thinks...or maybe I'm just being facetious...)

@Dog_Welder
I personally live for the brief time when Wendy's offers the Bacon Mushroom Melt - I act like Homer with the Ribwich ;)

I'm 33, 5'6" - and I have never weighed more than 120 lbs...soaking wet, after a sandwich, ad infinitum. It's beyond my control. I inherited my grandfather's genes (the man was a rail his whole life) and I have had the "metabolism from hell" for the entirety of mine. I'm "that guy" who can eat and eat and eat and never show it. Always with a clean bill of health, no malfunctioning glands or other body parts to speak of.

The only way I ever gain any weight is when I go to the gym regularly ( meaning muscle mass, of course). My trainer once said that he would have me drink heavy cream every morning, but the only thing it would do is give me a heart attack.

Not that I've been in quite a while, mind you, because I haven't been motivated to work out lately (not to mention the gas money I am saving by not going). I'd much rather watch a movie, play a game, or work on some music (a process centered around my PC).

My reason for this rant is to reinforce what most of us "think-for-ourselvers" already know: one simple thing alone is not to blame. Some of us can be drastically affected by a sleight change in diet and/or exercise patterns. Some of us don't even blink. It's a combination of individual genetic makeup, habits, AND mental health that dictates who we are, how we look, and so on...

this is like that goalie that blames the team's loss on video games a few months ago

Whoa, Shariq of OC Remix fame! I didn't expect to run into him here.

When someone points out a problem that they admit to have done themselves, ie. singling out a single cause for a large problem, what does that make them? A pot recognizing how black it is? I think it this case, it knows its faulty logic but wants to divert that attention away by transparently attacking something else.

Speaking of Soda= fat, do anyone know how many soda makers use sucralose(splenda) I am allergic to aspartame ...I need to cut my sugar intake down my body can't convert it much anymore...I is gettings old >

EZK: My father-in-law drink Diet RC. It has splenda. Not sure of any others off the top of my head.

GLAD to see that other people have already noted that Kevin Keane has cleared up this confusing mix up already.

AND that the vice-president of the American Beverage Association has also admitted that he is Captain N: The Game Master, now retired after saving Videoland, with three kids who he is ashamed to say have trounced him in today's games.

It wasn't too hard to piece together. Kevin Keene, Kevin Keane... just a simple change of a letter and WHOOSH! Perfect disguise! :D

Seriously, I'm glad that:

a) He was misquoted cause a guy named Kevin Keane really SHOULD love games, what with being Captain N and all.
AND
b) All kidding aside, the fact that he knows who and what Captain N is a statement in and of itself! ROCK ON! :D

Anyway, an UPDATE seriously needs to be tacked onto this.

Seriously.

~Otaku-Man

@ Pandralisk
"It’s difficult to find cheap, easy, tasty, and HEALTHY food options in America’s cities."

It's called the grocery store, i belive that they sell food that has not been super processed for a low price in some sections...

Also Fast food and proccesed food is not cheap, cheap is what i consider to be less than $5 here in Canada, becuase for the $6-$10 range for one meal at Mcdonalds, i could just cook up my own meal for 4, for about the same price.

I think one of the major problems is, is that a lot of people dont cook very often, maybe becuase they dont know how to cook meals from scratch. I would kinda like to see more people cook from scratch rather then going to a fast food place every other day, and those people that say it takes too much time, it's a lie, becuase theirs many things you can do to make sure food is on the table, such as preparing it ahead of time, using a slow cooker ect ect.

Another point i would like to make, is that if you are going to a fast food place, be sure to know what you pick. It's not as hard as you think, you dont have to pull up nutrition charts of any sort, you just have to watch what they do in the kitchen. Stupidly Mcdonalds has some sort of open "kitchen" where you can obviously see the french fries being dreaded in a pitcher of salt, or frozen products being prepared, or burgars being prepared on buttery oily surfaces, which kinda informs that yea, this might not be the best place for "X".

My god, does everyone hate video games? Pfft.. don't blame the game, blame the people for not having self-discipline

Rebuttal article:

Video games save the day with healthy eating habits with Cooking Mama! But remember kids- don't try to cook in real life, it's only a video game!

It's articles like this that make me hate people sometimes.

Right... the makers of incredibly sugary, empty-calorie filled beverages are blaming something else for childhood obesity.

It's a combinations of factors. Soda is right up there with sedentary lifestyles.

@ Generic Name

Beautifully said

@broken scope -- you do realize that the "fructose" part of "high fructose corn syrup" is sugar, right?

http://www.ameribev.org/news-detail/index.aspx?nid=119

The link to ABA

context is important.

Edward Norton once said, "I hate anyone that is a white Protestant."


but that was in the movie american history x


Also I can see how this could have been misread.

Hypocrites! Soda is full of High Frutose Corn Syrup, which it contains lots of sugar.

And second, why on earth would they want to profit from schools, that they also tribute to obesity.

Lay off those sugary drinks kids. They can give you diabetes.

DDR

Single cause of childhood obesity= Corn Syrup.
For those of you who do not know, corn syrup has replaced sugar as the sweetner of choice for american food. And it's not just a matter of "you need to avoid sweets"!
Go to your grocery store. Find any food stuff on the shelf. Read it's ingredients. Unless it's a raw vegetable, it has corn syrup added. I picked up a pack of uncooked italian sausage last night and right there on the label was corn syrup.
Are kids are fat because companies want their foods to taste better. The easiest way to appeal to a person's palate is with sugars or fats.

Yay! Blame wars!

There are a lot of problems that contribute to today's obesity problem.... I am about 5 feet 7 and weigh 200lbs., but I stay that way or go lower by walking everyday.

One thing that people blame is all of the commercials of fast food and sugary snacks that is placed during children's programming. But these are the only companies I've seen that buy commercial airtime on children's television. I've barely seen any commercials about healthy food. I blame the healthy food companies for not putting commercials on children's time slots. (correct me if I am wrong.)

Videogames MIGHT be a factor.... if played the whole day....No DDR or Guitar Hero....

But it is ultimatly up to the parents to prevent obesity. That is the truth.

I drink soda. I play video games. I weight 172, and I'm 5'9". I'm well within my weight standards...in fact, I'm very well kept. Soda makers...you fail.

How the hell are you going to be the one that MAKES something that contributes to obesity, then say "oh, its not us...its them". Is the child EATING these games? Do these games have low nutritional value? Come on. Stop being an idiot.

[...] In another story, soda makers are blaming video games for childhood obesity. Say what?? Pot, meet kettle anyone? How can people not see the hypocrisy of a story like this? [...]

LULZ.
Holy crap, this is right.
What's next?
McDonald's blames taxi drivers for Big Mac-induced heart attack surges!

[...] Soda companies blaming video games for child obesity [...]

We all know the real reason kid's are fat these day's. EL-NiNo is to blame. God damn storm. They told us year's down the road all kinda bad stuff would happen. See and yall thought nuffin was gonna happen. Well i guess that storm showed us eh? ;)