Diet pop has all kinds of substitute chemicals that are potent neuro-toxins, which, of course, reveal their deleterious impact on your brain over many, many years.
HFCS and trans-fats are the two big ones that will ensure our kids become the first American generation not to have a longer average life expectancy than their parents. This will find it's way into mainstream thinking in the full course of time, but, expect serious resistance in the interim.
The Cleveland Clinic is doing some things right, and, insomuch as obesity consumes some 40% of the expense of medicine, than the obese should pay 40% of the cost as far as I'm concerned.
Eat a whole foods diet, replete with vegetables, lean meats, fish, nuts and seeds, fruit, and some alternative grains. What's so hard to figure out about this? We wouldn't be talking about health care reform if people had a clue and executed the plan. And it starts with your own kids, instilling the proper habits without being so draconian that they start "hording" the bad stuff.