Contrary to popular belief, the problem with being overweight or obese has little to do with image or beauty. No, the latest reports are not some conspiracy to make you feel bad about yourself, or to turn everyone into the next Naomi Campbell or Tyson Beckford.

Rather, obesity is a major public-health threat that's putting children, teens and adults at an increased risk for diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke and many cancers.

I know, your Aunt So-and-so weighed 400 pounds and lived to be 100 and never had any health problems. Right?

Then she's the exception. Because, according to the New England Journal of Medicine, obesity can reduce your life expectancy by as much as 20 years. Put another way, some experts believe that for every pound you are overweight, you will decrease your life expectancy by one month.

Obesity has become so widespread that the World Health Organization says that more than 1 billion adults are overweight and 300 million are obese.

Furthermore, many experts are predicting that this generation of children will be the first in history to die before their parents due to weight-related illnesses.

About a third of American children and youth are either obese or at risk of becoming obese, according to a recent report by the Institute of Medicine, a nonprofit advisory group. Tragically, those numbers are increasing, and so are the number of sedentary teens and adults.

Yes, it may be a bitter pill to swallow but we simply must get our gluttonous appetites under control.

One of the first things we can do is to exercise portion control (along with a little exercise called the table push-back). Believe it or not, it really is that simple. We may not have control over everything, but we certainly have control over what we put into our mouths.

But it's not easy, because restaurants, advertisers and even some moms are always tempting us to overindulge with gargantuan portions.

Whether it's foie gras or french fries, we just plain eat too much. Even our appetizers are super-sized monstrosities. Outback Steakhouse's Bloomin' Onion appetizer, for example, has a whopping 2,210 calories, 134 grams of fat and 241 grams of carbs in just one serving.

Many unsuspecting consumers are duped into thinking they're eating healthy because they pick up a salad. But typical restaurant salads have loads of calories, mostly from salad dressing.

Moreover, according to Which?, a British consumer magazine, some food companies underestimate the calories in their products. According to its research, McDonald's says a Big Mac and medium order of french fries have a total of 786 calories, but 900 calories is the accurate count. Burger King says a Whopper has 13 grams of saturated fat, when it really contains 19 grams.

Need I say more? If big international chains are getting away with this, can we really expect the industry to police itself?

I know what you're thinking and no, I'm not trying to spoil your fun or be a killjoy. The bottom line: We have been duped into thinking that with gigantic portions we are getting more bang for our buck.

The reality? We are paying the ultimate price for our love of so-called "value-priced meals."

The more we overeat, the greater the cost to our health. In the end, less is indeed more! More life. More health. More fitness. More fun. More money.

More time to be with the people we love.