7. "Cutting Daily Sitting Time to Under 3 Hours Might Extend Life by 2 Years; Watching TV for Less Than 2 Hours a Day Might Add Extra 1.4 Years," Pennington BioMedical Research Center press release, July 10, 2012.

CHAPTER TEN: LEADING THE CONVERSATION.

1. Tara Parker-Pope, "Are Most People in Denial about their Weight?," New York Times, April 18, 2012.

2. Mara Vitolins et al., "Medical Schools Fall Short on Teaching Students about Obesity," Teaching and Learning in Medicine, July 2012.

3. David L. Katz, "Putting Physical Activity Where It Fits in the School Day: Preliminary Results of the ABC (Activity Bursts in the Cla.s.sroom) for Fitness Program," Preventing Chronic Disease, July 2010.

4. "Seven Most Business Friendly Cities," CNN Money, June 11, 2012.

5. "Ten Fat Law Suits (including 2 threatened ones) Have Been Successful-While One is Still Pending," http://banzhaf.net/suefat.html.

CHAPTER ELEVEN: TEACH YOUR CHILDREN WELL.

1. Deborah Kotz, "Limits on sugary drinks backed by research," Boston Globe, September 21, 2012.

2. Ibid.

3. Amber J. Hammons et al., "Shared Family Meals Seem to Operate as a Protective Factor for Overweight, Unhealthy Eating, and Disordered Eating," Pediatrics, May 2011. "The Importance of Family Dinners VII," National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, June 2012.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.

Writing this book has been both wrenching and rewarding as I faced deep truths about both food and friendship . . . so first of all I would like to thank Diane for being a real friend and letting me say what I had to say, and taking it and running with it.

Thanks to all our other friends who took part in what we hope will be an ongoing conversation about this very real public health crisis.

Thank you to Harvey Weinstein, David Steinberger, Amanda Murray, and Georgina Levitt, the wonderful people at Weinstein Books who jumped at the concept for this book.

Special thanks to our wider circle of friends who supported us every step of the way, especially Joe Scarborough, my co-host on Morning Joe and wingman on the issue of obesity. Joe takes constant beatings from me on the air, but he truly stands by me in the fight to make our food environment healthy.

I want to thank my boss Phil Griffin for always encouraging me to be transparent and real, despite the consequences. My thanks to Alex Korson, our executive producer on Morning Joe, for helping us get everything done.

To all the extraordinary women and men we interviewed, a heartfelt thanks for sharing your insights with us. Thank you for inspiring us.

Karyn Feiden, thanks for your deft touch and vision. Paula Brisco, thanks for your clearheaded thinking and practical wisdom. To Dan Tully and Emily Ca.s.sidy, thanks for focusing on the details. Lauren Skowronski, you are always right with me.

Diane and I want to thank our husbands. Tom Woodruff supported Diane's health challenge and pitched in with research, shedding light on subjects from science to public health policy. Thank you to my husband, Jim Hoffer, who worried about me taking on one more project, but who embraced this one when he saw that it would help make Diane and me healthier and happier people. Jim and Tom encouraged us to tell the truth and try to make a difference.

To my daughters, Emilie and Carlie, when the going got rough and putting these words on paper felt a little too raw and too personal for me, you were my constant inspiration to try to get better.

ALSO BY MIKA BRZEZINSKI.

Knowing Your Value: Women, Money.

and Getting What You're Worth.

All Things at Once.

end.