Obesity Epidemic

Well, having now completely ruined any chance of keeping up my 1 a day postings for the month... Let me just say that I had an incredible weekend. I feel like I have most of my life in perfect balance, almost a state of zen - I say almost because I have kids and I still have to work for a living!

So I got an email today talking about the obesity epidemic facing the US. As someone who has the potential to become of obese, and has been close to it in the past, I take an interest in this kind of thing.

From what I understand, an epidemic is something like the black plaque or one of the many flu epidemics. I would classify it as something that people don't have a choice about and that it is random in who it picks as victims.

The problem with the Obesity Epidemic is that it isn't an epidemic. Yes, it is a huge problem (Please excuse the pun!!) but it's not random, and it's 100% preventable.

I think people choose not to prevent it because it takes effort, and the more obese you get, the harder it is to escape it's grasp, but it is possible.

The problem is it takes the realization that it is possible, that you don't have a disease and that you need to make the choice not to be a victim of it. Calling it an epidemic almost seems to take you out of the equation, and when you have no control over you, that's a pretty helpless and pathetic situation to be in.