Last week I accompanied my 14-year-old son as he attended a weeklong baseball camp in Lakeland, Fla. He got to play and learn; I got to watch and yearn. I had a bit of spare time, about six hours a day, so I decided to ride around Lakeland, a city of about 100,000 residents, and do some real research: things like go to the mall and see which brands are hot and which ones are not. I even did something personally wicked and had lunch at a McDonald's Corp. (NYSE: MCD) restaurant. I had not been to a McDonald's in over a year. But, all in the name of research.

What struck me next was paralyzing as well as perplexing. Seated next to me was a family of six: grandma, grandpa, mom, dad and two 12- or 13-year-old brothers. I was astonished as I witnessed the amount of food on their table. I was also astonished by the obesity of this entire family. I figured between the six of them they weighed in at about 2,000 pounds. The two boys, even at their tender ages, probably tipped the scales at more than 200 pounds each. Mom and dad went an easy 300-350 pounds each, and grandma and grandpa, the same.

Then today I read that Florida ranks 46th out of our 50 states in fitness and health. My home state of Minnesota ranked second just behind Vermont. We'll catch 'em next year. But back to my story ...