L.A. County spends $6 billion yearly on weight-related issues

[The Straight Story]

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- There's a new effort to get people to eat less and healthier when they eat out.

Teaming up with area restaurants and a grant from First 5 LA, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health is cooking up a new campaign called Choose Health LA to help fight fat.

"This is just the launch. This is just the beginning," said Dr. Jonathan E. Fielding, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.

According to L.A. County statistics, nearly a quarter of low-income children 3 and 4 years old are obese or overweight while adult onset diabetes is the fastest growing disease among teens.

"The financial implications in addition to the quality of life implications on that population is horrific," said Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky.

Currently, L.A. County spends $6 billion yearly on weight-related issues.

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/food_coach&id=9246498

[kestrel91316]

1. No wonder we can't have potholes filled and streets repaved.

[lumpy]

2. Public opinion does more for weight loss than a campaign using public money can provide.

[kestrel91316]

4. Sez one of our not-so-secret libertarians, no doubt.

[Barack_America]

3. Staggering. But no amount of education is going to change the fact...

...that the foods that make a proper diet (I.e. fresh fruits and veggies) are out of reach for many.

Might be more cost effective to set up fruit and vegetable stands and simply give the food away for free. Could be the best way to compete with the cheap shit they're eating.

[xfundy]

5. Poor people get fat

because the stress of being poor, the continual threat of losing a place to live, income, feeding themselves and their kids causes physiological changes still in our DNA from caveman days: conserve energy, which is stored as fat.

Also, because they continually fall prey to cheap fast foods, which are loaded with sugar, fat, carcinogens, etc, but they at least have enough sense of morality to pay for it themselves.

Cons claiming fat means they get too much assistance are willfully ignoring facts.