LINK The southern mid-west states have a major problem with obesity. The whole country is going to be dealing with this issue for years to come also. I think cars have had a huge impact on how we live. we have more urban sprawl that require longer commutes. We are walking and biking less. Also cheap food is usually worse for your body. You can but 2 or 3 bottles of soda for the price of a bottle of juice.
Considering all the "pork" in the federal government, I was surprised to see Washington DC as less than 20%.
Portland did really well on the ACSM American Fitness Index this year. They are number 5. Colorado is #6. Link D.C. is #1 despite of (or thanks to) all of the government "pork". It's a young city and very pedestrian and cyclist friendly. If you look at a lot of the cities near the bottom of the index you see ones that have a lot of sprawl.
It's interesting, but no government policy should be based on it. Being obese is largely a choice. There's enough information out there to make smart dietary choices. If people choose to eat large amounts of high calorie foods, that's their choice. In a way, it's social Darwinism.
Parents have to be responsible for their kids. This abdication of responsibility to the nanny state government is a crutch.
There is just such incredible food in that region. I know that is part of it. Another part is that it's just too damn hot to do anything in the summer. My family went to an event called "the shimp and petroleum festival" I'm really not making that up, in Louisiana a couple of years ago. EVERY single house in the neighborhood had a screened porch where people sat all day and drank iced tea, or an adult beverage while eating barbeque. Simply awesome, but it's easy to see why people are so large there
There are things the government can do to promote healthy habits. - provide healthier options for school lunches - expand physical fitness programs in school - limit what food can be bought with food stamps, make the program more like WIC - Encourage cities to make themselves more bike and walker friendly
I wonder how different our country would be if we made bariatric lap band surgery as affordable as LASIK. You look at Wheeler and so many others who've had it done, and it really seems to turn their lives around. I've got an aunt who had it done and she's so much healthier and happier. She lost over 100 pounds. It can drastically reduce chances of diabetes too. And people who aren't too fat to walk can suddenly get jobs and be productive (tax paying) citizens. I don't know what kind of public policy it'd take to accomplish that. But if we could do it I wonder whether it wouldn't pay for itself in the long term with reduced health care costs, higher tax revenue, lower unemployment, etc. I know it's not fashionable to suggest proven medical solutions to the problem of obesity. It's much more popular to just laugh and point at the fat people and say it's up to them to diet. But if you could perform a $15k surgery that turns an unemployed, depressed drain on the economy into a $18k/year Walmart employee, doesn't it make sense in the long term to do so? I mean, we pay for public education for the very same reason--educated people are happier, more productive members of society, and yield more in tax revenue. *shrug* I don't know if it's lap band surgery or what, but somehow in the next decade there's going to be a revolution in how America handles obesity.
I just did a class on that for my sailors. THe obscene thing is that, in 1990 when they started compiling these statistics, there wasn't a state above 15%. Now there isn't a state below 20%. I'll try to find the powerpoint...
Something even more depressing about that map--if you took the current obesity level in Colorado, it's worse than the very worst state's obesity levels in 1990. Our slimmest state now is fatter than our fattest state 20 years ago.
That is... WOW None of my nieces or nephews play sports and they're diet is terrible. They are all over weight and possibly obese. I tell my sisters they have to change the way they eat and they agree but they work which complicates everything. It's hard to find affordable, convenient and healthy foods. At least fast food places are starting to offer alternatives to french fries (one of the unhealthiest things you can eat)
Unfortunately we've already been forced enough towards socialism so that other people making stupid decisions to become obese becomes everybody else's problem.
Would you libertarian minded folk consider strong educational programs about diet in schools, a nanny state?
I would prefer that schools focus on math, science, reading and writing, but there's no reason that you can't fit in a section on healthy eating sometime in the 12 years of public education.
What about subsidies for the corn industry (and consequently high fructose corn syrup)? Here's a perfect example of how current government policy influences obesity. Surely you're in favor of at least correcting this: http://consumerist.com/2010/03/why-a-salad-costs-more-than-a-big-mac.html
