Ridiculosity

According to MSNBC, Americans are overweight because of our high fat, high sugar environment. Furthermore, what's needed to fix the problem is a tax on soft drinks and government-built sidewalks, along with offering more healthy choices at fast-food restaurants. I guess two out of three isn't bad. I have a fourth suggestion: quit giving away health care. Force people to be live healthier lives instead of offering up free health care on which they can rely to unclog their arteries and insert lap-bands because their doctor says that's the only way they can eat less.

People in this country don't want to do what it takes to be skinny. Skinny and fat should not even be used when talking about how healthy a person is. I know overweight people who are healthy, and skinny people who are not. I know it's a pretty good indicator, but it's like saying people in church on Sunday will go to heaven and people who are not in church on Sunday won't. You have to know what's going on inside a person too, not just the surface stuff.

I have four sons. When they all were still living at home, they all ate the same food, in about the same quantity. Two are overweight, two and just about right. The one now who eats the most is also the skinniest. There's more to a person's weight than just what they eat. I'm pretty sure that among the things contributing to a fatter society are the Internet, computers, automobiles, wealth, mass-produced fruits and vegetables, and a lack of home-grown gardens. Think about people's lives before and after each of these developments.

I agree with MSNBC, obesity is an environmental problem. But it's a problem of each individual's environment and does not require a governmental fix.