American Idle?

I just got back from a run that nearly killed me. I decided to get a coach this year to see if I could improve on my triathlon times. I had to run 7 miles today (the farthest I have ever ran in my life) and despite the fact that the run portion of the triathlons I do are never over 3.1 miles! This was after biking 42 miles yesterday. I'm not sure what that is all about, but that is why I have a coach I guess. Anyway, when I was out running I started thinking about how many people in my community are really fit yet the percentage of obese people in the US has now exceeded the percentage of people who are merely overweight. More than 34% are obese, just under 6% are morbidly obese and 32.7% of Americans are overweight. The percent of Americans who exercise on a regular basis (at least 3 times/week) is under 50% and those over the age of 15 who exercise daily is only 16%. Around here it seems like everyone is active. All three of my sons are involved in organized sports (one swimmer and two play hockey), my hubby lifts weights (3x/wk) and I train (6 days/wk)to do triathlons! Four of my neighbors just ran the half marathon, our triathlon club has over 100 members and our cycling group has nearly as many. The gym is crowded on a regular basis, though especially now at the beginning of the year, and the local YMCA fun run this past Saturday was a huge success with over 2000 people either running, jogging or walking the route. I have other friends who are tennis players, yoga instructors, golfers, and gym rats. So where do the obese live and what is needed to encourage kids to start exercising young so that it becomes a lifelong habit? Is it that the food they intake is more than their output, even if they are somewhat active? Is it the kinds of foods they eat? Do people not exercise because they think there is no time or because they don't like to do it? I can't say I always enjoy the physical rigors of my training, but I love the feeling I have when I am done.