But as has happened with smoking, it will take many years, a slew of different tactics and the political will to overcome powerful lobbying by culpable industries to turn the problem around and begin to bring the prevalence of overweight and obesity back to the levels of the 1970s. What Changed? 6 When I was growing up in the 1940s and '50s, I had to walk or bike many blocks to buy an ice cream cone. There were no vending machines dispensing candy and soda, and no fast food emporiums or shopping malls with food courts. Nor were we constantly bombarded with televised commercials for prepared foods and drinks laden with calories of fats and sugars. 7 Yes, we kids had our milk and cookies after school, but then we went out to run around and play until dark. Television watching (through my father's business, my family acquired an early TV with a seven- inch screen) was mostly a weekend family affair, not a nightly ritual with constant noshing.