ABSTRACT
Throughout history, children and adults alike have indulged in reinforcing sedentary activities and consumed calorie- and fat-laden foods. As recently as three decades ago it was unheard of to limit the amount or type of food a child could eat. Yet the issue of overweight in children and adolescents is historically rare. One hypothesis for this seeming contradiction is that children were engaged in a greater variety of pleasurable, hedonic, and highly reinforcing activities.
