Everything is bigger  in America, we have got the biggest cars, the biggest houses, the biggest companies, the biggest food, and, finally, the biggest people. America has now become the fattest nation in the world. Congratulations.  Nearly 100 million Americans are today ................... overweight ................ obese. That is more ............... 60% of all U.S. adults.

Since 1980  the total number of overweight and obese Americans has doubled, with twice as many overweight children and three times as many overweight adolescents. The fattest state in America? Mississippi - where one ............. four people are obese.

I grew up in West Virginia, currently the third-fattest state in America. When I was growing up, my mother cooked dinner every single day. Almost all my memories of her are in the kitchen. And we never ate out, only on those few, rare, special occasions. Today, families do it all the time, and they are paying for it, ............................ with their wallets, but also with their waistlines.

Obesity is now second only to smoking as a major cause ................ preventable death in America, with more than 400.000 deaths ................. year associated with related illnesses. Each day, one in four Americans visits a fast-food restaurant. And this hunger for fast food is not just in America. It is happening on a global basis. McDonald's alone operates ...................... 30.000 stores in over 100 countries ............... 6 continents and feeds more than 46 million people worldwide every day. That is more than the entire population of Spain. They are everywhere - walmarts, airports, rest stops, gas stations, train stations, shopping malls, department stores, amusement parks, even hospitals. That is right - hospitals.

........ 2002 a few Americans got fed up with being overweight and did what we do best: They sued the companies. A lawsuit was filed ............... New York on behalf of two teenage girls, one who was 14 years old, 4`10 (1,25 m), and 170 pounds (77 kg), the other, 19 years old 5`6 (1,70 m), and 270 (122 kg) pounds.

Lawyers for McDonald's called the suits frivolous, stating that the dangers of its food are universally known and that these kids ........................... show that their weight ................. health problems were caused solely by their McDiets.