Pouring on the Pounds?

Here is a new public advertisement meant to help out New York Governor Paterson's campaign to create a tax on sugary drinks that have been proven to contribute to the obesity epidemic. Governor Paterson proposes an 18% tax on all non-diet sodas and I have to say I agree 100%.



We have made smoking a social taboo, and raised the tax to the point that some people just can afford to smoke an $8 pack of cigarettes. Why not do the same with foods that make us fat? The obesity tax as it is called, if passed has the potential to set a precedent that would make it easier to tax fast-food, sugary foods and other junk food that have no nutritional value and just make us bigger as a nation. I applaud Governor Paterson and NYC's ad campaign and I only hope the Rhode Island legislature can be as supportive when I propose a similar tax this coming fall.

Hip to be Round?

New York Times Reports on the Hipness of Being Round







Today I ran across a New York times article (check it out here) that reports on the growing prevalence of young men's pot bellies in New York City. Well the author's evidence is all anecdotal, it probably is not too far from the truth. We are all becoming bigger as a country as we exercise less and eat whatever we want.

The author comments on the sad reality that many young people don't work out. Many for lack of motivation. As the author says, guys can get away with having a pot belly and still get the girl they want. If you can still get the girl, do whatever you'd like and live a happy life than why workout?

Such is our attitude to exercise and eating healthy since its benefits are not immediate. In the near term we can eat junk food, not be physically active and it wont have a huge impact on our daily lives. Except for the 10-15 pounds we gain a year.

We think of the environment in very much the same way. The constant harm we do to the environment does not show up in our daily lives so we do not consider it one of our top priorities. But when the time comes that the environment does impact us on a regular basis it will be too late to fix.

The same goes for living a healthy lifestyle. The immediate effects of not exercising and eating unhealthy are not life-threatening. Sure the extra ten pounds you put on last year might mean that your clothes fit tighter, you are more self-conscious when you go to the beach, but neither of those is usually enough to motivate us to make a lifestyle change.

This motivation to start living healthy usually starts when the doctor tells us we have hypertension, diabetes or cardiovascular disease. Or tells us directly that we have to lose weight or else.

Usually at this point it is too late. Diabetes and cardiovascular disease while manageable, are irreversible. So are stretch marks and fat cells. If that's not enough, the extra pounds around our abdomen increase our risk of cancer two-three fold.

Knowing many people that live with diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disease I can tell you that none of the three diseases are easy to live with. So while you might think living a healthy lifestyle does not apply to you now, because you are 23, can get any girl you want, make six figures and are virtually invincible, think again, it does.

Not to mention that contrary to its growing pervasiveness, a pot belly is not hip.