Don't feed the kids what Mom fed you. They'll be fatties.

2500 calories daily for a man and 2000 for a woman was gospel fifty years ago and a recipe for fatness today.  Don't bemoan the temporary surge in obesity.  You're looking at a feature, not a bug.  We expend less energy to prosper, find shelter and work and to socialize.   Humans will prevail better.  Now de-program two generations that grew up on Mom's serving sizes and still think that's the norm.  We get the results we want in life for less effort and that means fewer calories IN and more surplus time and energy for OUT.  Blaming people for sitting around is to miss the point.

"Modern lifestyles ... have allowed people to become so inter-connected that they barely need to leave their desks or sofas to work, socialise or shop.
Recommended calorie counts, which have been about 2,500 for men and 2,000 for women since the First World War, were set at a time when people naturally moved far more in their daily lives. But the new study suggests those counts may now be too high and researchers say that people need to stop eating the way their parents taught them.
Trade deals between countries have also caused food prices to tumble, creating virtually unlimited access to unrestricted calories for most people, while on-tap entertainment through television, smartphones and personal computers has replaced many traditional hobbies and activities."  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/12/26/meals-parents-made-now-calorific-modern-lifestyles/