[Dottore]

Absolutely it matters. We've just had a sad experience with this.

We have a nephew in Germany. 17 years old, bright and curious kid, both parents doctors. Plays violin, athletic, reads widely etc. etc. The perfect son in other words.

Last August his parents sent him to the US for 1 year on an exchange program so that he would become fluent in English. At the last moment, the place they had planned for him in Virginia cancelled, and they had to find another school and "host-parents" on short notice. What they found was a small town in Tennessee. The host parents were both school teachers—so it sounded good.

Fast forward one year: The kid is now with us on his way back to Germany. He's gained an enormous amount of weight, and is slow and lethargic. His eyes are dull. The only things he wants to do all day are eat and play with his computer and Ipod touch. Turns out his host family did not cook. At all. (WTF? How can families not cook?) So mornings they went to Hardees, for lunch it was Subway, and for dinner Burger King. And in between there were chips and ding dongs and ice cream. For a whole friggin year.

And at night these guys would hold hands and read the bible together etc, and now the kid has acquired this ridiculous primitive faith to boot. Asks me if I am"walking in the light" and shyte like this. Really tragic.

Honestly, this is criminal in my view. The kid has gone from a bright and curious child to a complete slug in one year.

Food matters. Sweet Jesus it matters!