F is for Fat

The threat of obesity - pervasive, serious and growing. No other issue effects so many. No other issue is more avoidable. No other issue generates more complacency than does the threat of obesity. Why?

• It seems so simple (eat less, move more); yet is so complicated encompassing issues of lifestyle, habit development, cooking methods, cultural background, geographic location, city planning, food and child safety, psychological, genetic and the list goes on.


• Food is so personal. Changes to what, when, and how people eat can be monumental. For some it is like changing who they are.


• Progress has brought with it technological advances which result in less calories expended.

So what's the solution, government programs, changes in urban planning, food manufacturers developing healthy foods? Actually it's all of these and more.

The most important solution however comes from within each of us. What we eat and how we spend our time is a personal choice - actually a lot of personal choices that we make each day. What we buy at the grocery store, order at restaurants, make in the kitchen, choose at the table or at a friend's home all add up to become us. We also make choices between TV and dog walking, bicycle or motorcycle, skis or snowmobile. You get the picture.

This past week a report was released in which the prevalence of obesity was reported to be still growing. Even the map we use to show this visually has changed color schemes. Check it out yourself - http://healthyamericans.org/reports/obesity2010/.

We can't change our genes but we can work within them and our other limitations. Make each choice you make a healthy one - or at least most of them. Enjoy what you eat and what you do. It is really possible to do both.

Happy, Healthy Eating,

Marcia