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As our society continues to gravitate more and more towards indoor living and our economy leans further towards computer related jobs, the physical activity of the general population continues to decline. At the same time, American consumption of food is steadily on the rise. This greatly offsets the balance of our metabolism and pushes us towards obesity. Studies show that in 2001, over 25% of Americans were obese. Today these figures are rising. While in other countries, poor people are starving to death, the leading cause of death in American poor people is obesity related problems. Obesity related health issues such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and heart attack, are killing more Americans than many cancers and communicable diseases.

Do you think this problem will get better or worse in the next decade? What measures could we take to get Americans healthier?

      I don't know if we're going to get better or worse, but one thing's for sure: we're preparing for worse. Just look at all those infomercial products that help us avoid the unnecessary toils of sitting up in bed or bending down or picking up our lap dogs to put them on our furniture. I think the best example I've heard of America preparing for worse comes from Disney World, the Mecca of American consumerism. I read that Disney World has had to renovate their famous "Small World" ride because, as a nation, we're too big for it now. The Small World boats, weighed down by heavier Americans, have frequently gotten stuck, essentially becoming artery blockages that slow down the already interminable lines to the ride. Because of this, Small World is going to have a deeper flume and redesigned boats.

     Disney World's solution to the Small World problem epitomizes America's approach to fighting obesity. Like Disney, we don't do anything about the cause of obesity, which is, obviously, caloric intake. Instead, we use medical science and novelty products to increase our capacity to abuse our bodies. But if we keep targeting the effects and not the cause, we'll only become better at accepting the problem, no matter how much worse it becomes, and we'll just have to keep on renovating.

If it's true that food habits are established in childhood (and I believe it is) then to answer "What measures could we take to get Americans healthier," I say, start with children's diets.

Here's one step that could have a huge impact: Eliminate the marketing of greasy fast food and sugary snacks to kids! I've never been a fan of censorship, but if there is one thing I could wholeheartedly censor, that kind of marketing would be it. Why? Because if kids don't see it on TV they don't ask for it as much, and if they don't beg till the point of breaking their parent's will to say no, they don't eat it as much.

Another positive step would be to disallow kids extended screen time, be it the wii or a dvd or online. It's not just adults sitting at desk jobs that has obesity rates skyrocketing, and just like diet, exercise habits formed as kids stick around a lot longer than exercise habits one tries to form later in life.

Actually strangely enough the Wii and some other games like Dance Dance Revolution are actually known to improve overall health in some kids. Naturally it's much better to have them outside playing with other kids, but for those couch potatoes that do nothing but sit around and play video games, the physical activity involved is much better than nothing. I actually knew a kid who lost 30 pounds playing Dance Dance Revolution. In a world where it is becoming more and more fun to stare at a screen all day, these kinetic games offer a reasonable middle ground.