Clinton's Crusade On Child Obesity

Former President Explains His Ideas To Change Unhealthy Diets

(CBS)  On CBS' Road to Ruin tour of the United States, CBS News correspondent Mika Brzezinski stopped in Little Rock, Ark., where former Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton's favorite dishes included cheeseburgers and hot tamales. But a lifetime of eating like that led to his heart bypass surgery a year ago. Now the former president is devoting much of his energy to fighting childhood obesity.

"It's obvious that by far the biggest problem we face, and perhaps the biggest health problem facing America today is childhood obesity. It has basically tripled in the past generation," former President Bill Clinton said.

Its his own personal journey as a former junk food junkie inspired former Mr. Clinton to take on this problem. He joined with CBS partner Nickelodeon to raise awareness among children about healthier eating.

And he did it because as a young boy, Mr. Clinton himself struggled with his weight.

Was he a chubby kid?

"That's charitable," Mr. Clinton said, smiling. "Yes. I weighed 210 lbs. when I was 15."

"For the rest of my life with only two exceptions I maintained a pretty good weight," Mr. Clinton told Brzezinski. "But by then I had adopted eating habits which would eventually clog my arteries."

But if he knew he was eating an unhealthy diet, what didn't click?

"I think I thought as long as I was exercising and had my weight under control I'd be alright," Mr. Clinton said. "I think what a lot of people need to understand is that you can be superficially fit and still have these problems."

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Now on a healthy diet, Mr. Clinton rarely cheats.

"I'm really careful. Maybe once every other month I'll eat three French fries," he said.

But when visiting Memphis, Mr. Clinton came upon an unexpected gift: a plate of ribs. The former president is so careful about his diet that, even a special treat was out of the question.

Mr. Clinton believes the American diet from fast food to the kitchen table needs a national overhaul.

"We can't be content with just a few healthy items on every diet," Mr. Clinton said. "We have got to change the way we prepare food. We have got to change the way we present it. We have got to change the way we educate our children, beginning in the first grade or kindergarten."

The former president and former funk food fanatic — who was a familiar face at fast food joints — says the government should offer tax incentives to restaurant chains to make their entire menus healthy.

"We are going to spend a lot more money dealing with the health consequences of childhood obesity than we would giving the restaurant chains the opportunity to move America in a different direction," Mr. Clinton said.

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Check out day five of Mika's road journal.

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