Posted on 08/27/2007 5:36:16 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
AN EPIDEMIC of obesity could have serious consequences for America's economy and its ability to defend itself, according to a leading politician.
Self-confessed "recovering foodaholic" Mike Huckabee, a Republican Party presidential candidate, told a group of governors from the American South that the increasing numbers of people who were either over-weight or obese meant more and more people were having to take time off work for health reasons.
And Mr Huckabee, who lost 110lb - nearly 8st - several years ago when he was governor of Arkansas, said he was concerned by reports that nearly two-thirds of American military personnel were overweight.
He questioned whether the nation's increasingly obese population would be able to defend itself "if we don't have enough people who are healthy enough to show up and pick up a backpack?"
The Southern Governors' Association convention heard that obesity was creating the first generation of Americans who might not live as long as their parents. Dr William Rowley, who was a vascular surgeon for 30 years and now works at the Institute for Alternative Futures, said 61 per cent of US active-duty military personnel are overweight.
Mr Huckabee, who is among a crowded pack of candidates in the Republican Party race, which also includes former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, actor and former senator Fred Thompson and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, said the statistic disturbed him.
"You've got a serious situation with a generation of kids coming up so unhealthy they won't be able to pass the military physical," he said in an interview after the panel discussion.
"We keep talking about the war on terror - who's going to fight it if we don't have enough people who are healthy enough to show up and pick up a backpack?"
Mr Huckabee - who left office in January after having been governor since July 1996 - implemented a number of programmes to battle weight problems in Arkansas, including having state schools measure students' body fat.
But he worried that not enough was being done to ensure children growing up in the US today were living healthy lifestyles.
"Let me ask this question: who's going to fight it in the future if we're a generation so sick that we don't have the capacity to show up for work?" Mr Huckabee said.
The governor of Mississippi, Haley Barbour, also a Republican, said during the panel discussion that the eight fattest states in the nation were all in the South. He questioned whether diet was a factor in areas of the country where fried chicken is part of the culture.
"I don't know that fried chicken has anything to do with it," Mr Barbour said. "We weren't raised eating right in the South, but the good news is we can do something about it."
Health has been an early issue in Republican debates.
On Friday, Mr Romney said the government had to help to ensure everyone was covered by health insurance.
He announced healthcare initiatives that would deregulate the insurance market, cap malpractice claims and make sure everyone was insured.
Instead of using federal money to reimburse hospitals for treating people without insurance, he said he wanted the money to be used to help low- income people buy insurance at a lower cost.
Has anyone ever wondered why ever increasing numbers of those who are obese coincides with the ever increasing numbers of those who occupy the poverty level and below in our society??
BMI doesn’t account well for muscle. Well muscled people can weigh more for their height than normal. This will give them a higher BMI.
I do believe our military personnel have more muscle than average americans. I don’t trust the numbers used in this article.
“The crisis is in the minds of wanna-be totalitarians whose most fervent wish is to control what you and I eat, drink and when and how much we exercise.”
Oh come on. Some folks are concerned that we are a nation of lard-@#@#@. And we are and we as a nation will have to pay for it as these folks have gigantic health problems in the future. Personally I don’t want to pay higher insurance rates because somebody never walks anywhere and stuffs his face with things like McDonalds and Chinese buffets everyday of the week People need to show some personal responsibility and take care of themselves.
“You are, no doubt, correct, but whatever happened to the studies that say that slightly overweight people live longer than underweight people ?”
We aren’t talking about folks who could lose 10 lbs. We are talking about gigantic folks who could lose 100 lbs. And we as a nation have tons of ‘em. Just go to any Walmart.
I agree with you, although we might differ as to means. I don't believe in gub'mint mandated insurance (single payer), but I don't believe insurance companies should have laws made against them charging premiums on a real acturarial basis.
But here's a sad fact that will surely frost your a$$: In Bangor today they are building low income, elderly and welfare apartments on two corners of a four-way intersection and on the third corner? ... You guessed it, a brand new Oriental Palace II!
So they are moving about 150 low income families and elderly, people admittedly already on the plantation, right across from a business that is probably building with an SBA low interest loan
The whole thing becomes circular, a government funded round pound and they expect you and me to pick up the rent, the heat, the lights, the food plus pay for their insurance.
What do we need a military for anyway? According to the Dems, if we just act nice to everyone, they’ll act nice to us too.
whatever.
Europe is also getting fat.
The reasons:
Not enough physical activity; the Xbox has replaced the football field
Two working parents: two income families save time by ordering out a lot. That means lots of fast food, and lots of sugary soda to wash it down with, not to mention a lack of vegatables in the diet.
Good food is more expensive: it used to be cheap to eat healthy. Now it’s actually cheaper to eat unhealthy.
Microwaves: increasing US obesity rates track almost exactly with the rise of the cheap microwave oven in the early 80’s. The two graphs match each other almost point for point.
More vehicles: more people (including teenagers) than ever have their own vehicles, and they ride everywhere, even on a short trip to the store.
Air conditioning: The availability of cheap air conditioning keeps us cooler than nature intended. Hot bodies have reduced appetites. Colder bodies have increased appetites. Cold temperatures triggers an instinct to gather energy for the long winter ahead.
When is the last time you went to Europe? I was there 2 weeks ago. By the way I never mentioned anything about Europe.
Italy last November, lots of fatbodies.
We’ve been through this before within the military. Now, I’m not discounting a national obesity issue but with respect to the military specifically I can recall a previous enthusiasm for BMI that had my CO telling one of the best collegiate wrestlers in the country that he was overweight. Guy had a 29-inch waist and was built like a Mac truck, probably not enough fat on him to fill a teaspoon. Ship’s Doc just rolled his eyes and asked the CO if he wanted him to amputate a leg or something...
My understanding is that diet soda, even though it doesn’t have sugar, still tricks the body into producing insulin, which can lead to fat.
I know why. When I started eating healthy (more fresh fruits and vegetables, and whole grains), my food bill doubled. I could eat at the McDonalds Dollar menu for less than what it costs me to make a healthy dinner.
Sounds like it’s time to bring back “Victory Gardens.”
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