The American Diabetes Association has been pushing efforts to combat diabetes through their comprehensive Diabetes Prevention Program. The DPP was conducted over several medical centers, involving participants who volunteered to have their eating and activity habits monitored and to follow dietary and exercise recommendations. Among the astounding findings of the said program is the correlation between the causes and prevention of diabetes with that of obesity. Even so, health programs such as the DPP could not account and counter the entire problem with weight-gain alone. People of power have to do something because they can.

Regrettably, public policy and bills on obesity have not been eagerly pushed through enough against one of the gravest threats to long-term health. Legislators are only as eager to listen on the chitchat-debates rather than to act (immediately) on the required public policy and bills on obesity.
Particular groups and districts though are positively assertive. Some state-lawmakers are forwarding bills requiring fast food and chain restaurants to post nutrition information such as caloric, fat and sugar content on menus to standardize public awareness on obesity. Other states are considering public policies restricting the sale of soda, candy, and other junk-foods in schools under jurisdiction, while others are appointing commissions for research or imposing physical education standards in schools. Others still propose public policy and bills on obesity imposing tax not only on fatty-foods, but also on sedentary models like movie-tickets, video-games and DVD-rentals, to be used as fund for nutrition and exercise programs. Read the rest of this entry »

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