Brush and trees are engulfed in flames after firefighters set a backburn along Highway 191 in an attempt to control a raging wildfire on June 10, 2011 in Nutrioso, Arizona. The fire, which is five percent contained, has so far consumed over 400,000 acres of land and destroyed 29 homes. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

Masaaki Nagumo controls the Land Walker robot at Sakakibara Kikai Co., Ltd Headquarters on May 12, 2005 in Maebashi, Japan. The two legged robot stands at 3.4 metres high and weighs 1000kg. The Land Walker is available to buy for 36,000,000 yen (approximately US $340,000). Masaaki Nagumo developed Land Walker on the basis of the dream he has had in his childhood that enables a person to go on. (Photo by Koichi Kamoshida/Getty Images)

Dameon Harris of Nevada gets used to the controls of a bulldozer at Dig This October 27, 2011 in Las Vegas, Nevada. At Dig This, tourists take a short class and can then operate full-size hydraulic excavators and track-type bulldozers in a giant sandbox while being guided by instructors over headsets. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Controlled fires lit by residents glow in the hills over the village of Pottenstein during the annual Epiphany celebration on January 6, 2012 in Pottenstein, Germany. The ceremony, which also includes a procession with torches through the village center, is part of a tradition going back to 1905. Pottenstein was once a pilgrimage destination. (Photo by Johannes Simon/Getty Images)

In this photo illustration a package of Nicotine Gum, which is advertised as helping people stop smoking cigarettes, is seen on January 10, 2012 in Miami, Florida. A study published in the journal Tobacco Control on Monday, reported that the nicotine alternatives, like Nicotine Gum, have no lasting effect on people trying to quit their smoking habit. (Photo illustration by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

General view of the screens in Hyde Park to showing the Royal Wedding on April 29, 2011 in London, England. The marriage of Prince William, the second in line to the British throne, to Catherine Middleton is being held in London today. The Archbishop of Canterbury conducted the service which was attended by 1900 guests, including foreign Royal family members and heads of state. Thousands of well-wishers from around the world have also flocked to London to witness the spectacle and pageantry of the Royal Wedding and street parties are being held throughout the UK. (Photo by Tom Dulat/Getty Images)

“The most serious health problem in the U.S. today is obesity.” Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? But that pronouncement about obesity’s primacy in the hierarchy of national health problems is not new. Rather, it’s the opening line to a remarkable article published 60 years ago in LIFE magazine. This photographs made by Martha Holmes to illustrate that March 1954 article, titled “The Plague of Overweight.” Photo: Dorothy Bradley (left), photographed for LIFE magazine article on obesity, 1949. (Photo by Martha Holmes/Time & Life Pictures)