http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/obesity/trend/maps/
Think we have an ongoing problem with obesity? I wanted to be a nutritionist at one time (I wouldn't call myself a health freak but I exercise regularly and most people around me see that as excessive) but there's so much pseudoscience and depression in the field that I decided to look elsewhere.
I've mentioned a few times that the level of ignorance that runs through the school system can be staggering. The only health education I got as a kid was watching a health education film in high school (about seven years ago.) The only thing I remember of it was 1) it was sponsored by Hershey's 2) It advocated exercising every day 3) It told the story of a fat guy who only played tennis twice a week who had a heart attack.
...yeah, so the only thing it imprinted in my head was exercise = heart attack.
We need ongoing health education in classes, complete with real classes, food planning, and repeated hammering of information... seriously, is understanding and healthy living for the next seventy years of your life more or less important than remembering the specifics of the sum of two sides of a triangle?
I read somewhere else (but don't really trust the source seeing as how they wanted to sell me pills that only target abdominal fat reduction) that 8 out of 10 people aged 25 are currently obese. I'd say about half of all my friends are obese and from looking at most of the people around me, this is probably spot on.
Personally, I've been effected by obesity and health related problems in the family. My dad has type 2 diabetes and now has to watch everything he eats, though he does this poorly. Also, my brother was diagnosed as borderline diabetic when we were kids; thanks to my parents not paying attention, the day before a blood test he ate a ton of red licorice, and I'm pretty sure this accounted for his spike in blood sugar! They gave him gruff for years over it, even though he generally is a healthy person.
Another thing that surprises me is I land exactly in 50/50 down to the pound when it comes to weight and height... yet everyone I've ever met has called me skinny. Obviously, something is forcing weird ideas into our heads to give us skewed views of weight and normalness.
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I agree that the school system should spend more time and effort on health education. I am afraid that they have to spend so much time on the major subjects, math and reading/writing, that they don't spend adequate time on any of the other subjects. Hopefully, with the new administration some things can be changed, as far as the "No Child Left Behind" act is concerned, so that our children can receive a well rounded education, one that involves health education. This could be positive life altering education rather than of spending all classroom hours testing or preparing for the tests.
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