The pediatrician Dr. Benjamin Spock wrote his classic bible of child rearing, Baby and Child Care, in 1946. For more than fifty years, it was the second-bestselling book in the world, after the Bible. Regarding childhood obesity, he writes, “Rich desserts can be omitted without risk, and should be, by anyone who is obese and trying to reduce. The amount of plain, starchy foods (cereals, breads, potatoes) taken is what determines . . . how much (weight) they gain or lose.”
