Bad news for healthy habits

May 29th, 2009 at 11:29am Mike DeDoncker

I used to joke that if I wanted to kill off Americans, I could do it without firing a single shot or detonating a single car bomb.

I’d just open one fast-food restaurant after another and let them eat themselves to death.

That’s probably oversimplification, but word this week about a study by the Medical University of South Carolina can only be considered bad news for those in the business of keeping people healthy — that is, in the business of keeping them healthy before they need a doctor, anyway.

Maybe somebody beat me to the fast-food idea because the study found the percentage of people ages 40 through 74 with a body mass index of more than 30 (that’s obese in body mass index language) increased from 28 percent to 36 percent between 1994 and 2006. That was aided by a 10 percent decrease in those who are getting some type of physical activity at least three times a week.

I’m not saying it’s all the fault of fast-food restaurants, but I am concerned that, despite all the publicity given to the benefits of healthy lifestyles, Americans still appear to be too unconcerned about their health to take even the smallest steps to take care of themselves.

To borrow a line from the local CHIP program, they’re literally killing themselves with a knife and fork.

If somebody did invade the country with the intent to do harm, we might be too fat to resist.

Entry Filed under: healthyrockford.com