"It’s estimated that about 66 percent of adults in the United States are either overweight or obese. "

 That number is higher than I expected.  That number is also deplorable.  There is so much more we could do to promote healthier eating habits which would lead to fewer doctors’ appointments.   True, many people still will reach for the double cheeseburger with an extra order of fries.   It’s also easy to say that all people have choices.  Not so.  The poor are not going to shop at whole foods markets.  Fast food establishments dot those neighborhoods.  Many are within walking distance from a public school.  Fast food is not only fast but quite cheap, heavy on sodium and sugar.  Coke machines are in almost every school cafeteria and gyms.  Our daily intake of sugar should be no more than 6 teaspoonfuls.  One Coke alone has 8.  Many teens have four or five during a school day or after school event. 

There are also fast foods in our schools.  We could certainly do a better job there, but schools operate on a budget.  They buy in bulk and what is least costly.  So, cafeteria trays are laden with simple carbs.  We’ve cut PE from many curriculas; ditto for health classes. 

All bad habits are difficult to correct.  Our children could learn good habits in elementary school.  Prevention could make great inroads, but first we should insist on it.  School board meetings are a good place to start.

I was raised to think that dessert was an apple or other piece of fruit. We seldom had refined sugar, except for the occasional birthday cake (five sibs!). A snack was (and still is) carrots, lettuce or something natural and munchy. I never met a vegetable I didn’t like, and I don’t touch red meat, and never cared for it as a child, either. When I was a child we couldn’t afford processed treats or fast food, and my parents did the best they could for us nutrionally. It turns out their way was an intuitive pattern I would follow my whole life.

I have never understood people my age who expect fast food to be a part of their everyday diet. I don’t judge; I honestly don’t understand the pull of processed red meat and fried potatoes. I have a rule of thumb—if it is fried, it is evil.

To this day, I use baking soda or tooth powder to brush my teeth, because standard toothpastes taste like candy, in a bad way. My only vice is an occasional diet cola for the caffeine.

I have hit the gym for rigorous, painful, Physical Therapy twice a week for four months now. Looking at my reflection in those mirrored walls gave me the dose of reality I needed to continue exercising once my knee is healed. Isn’t this all just common sense?