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Who owns the Road

I have something to get off my chest. I just got back from a nice long jog, or not so nice because of the traffic that I jog against. For some reason people think they own the road and that roads were only made for cars or trucks. I pay taxes just as much as the person driving that car or truck.

As I run along the country side I get people that will not move over at all and go by me at speeds of 60 miles per hour and more. I do my best to get on the shoulder as much as I can, but sometimes the roads do not have much of a shoulder to run on. I try to pick the less traveled roads so I don't have to deal with a lot of traffic, but I still come across a lot of traffic. Today I had one person in a car throw a cigarette butt at me. I wonder by me jogging on the side of the road that it is making that persons life so bad that they had to do that!

But yet we hear everyday that how obese our country is but nobody wants to do anything about it. Instead we complain how much our body hurts and knees hurt. Well if we get out and start moving around it might help a lot of those aches and pains. But our country would rather take a pill for this and a pill for that because it is a lot easier.

We just had a biggest loser contest at work and it all went well the first month and then the people started complaining about how hard it is and that they are not losing anything. People have to realize that it took them how long to put this weight on and that it is not going to come off overnight. We had this contest go on for 3 months and it was pretty sad when it got over because everybody went back to their old habits. I try to tell them to keep up the good work and the exercise habits they picked up but they tell me I don't know what I am talking about because I don't have a weight problem. Well I wonder why I tell them because I have been working out for over 25 years. But they don't want to listen to that, they just want to eat what they want and complain about how bad they feel.

Now back to the subject I started on in the first place which is car traffic. Why can't people be happy for someone when they see you jogging, biking, or whatever it is you enjoy doing. When I see someone jogging I think that is a great thing because I do not know what that persons history is. Maybe they are doing it for health reasons or maybe just for the love of it to prevent health problems. I am 5 months from my 50^th birthday and feel great!

So the next time you see someone jogging or biking on the side of the road, move over and give them some room and be happy they are doing something for their health.

No State Meets Healthy People 2010 Goals

According to data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), no state met the Healthy People 2010 objective of 15 percent, and 30 states were 10 or more percentage points away from the objective. The Healthy People 2010 (HP2010) national health objectives include one to reduce the proportion of adults who are obese to 15 percent.

These latest figures from the CDC demonstrate that obesity continues to be a significant public health problem. The Healthy People 2010 (HP2010) national health objectives include one to reduce the proportion of adults who are obese to 15% (objective 19-2) (1). Obesity is defined as a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or above. BMI is calculated using height and weight. For example, a 5-foot, 9-inch adult who weighs 203 pounds would have a BMI of 30, thus putting this person into the obese category.

This analysis estimated the 2007 obesity prevalence among adults, by state, from self-reported weight and height data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). No state met the Healthy People 2010 objective of 15% and 30 states were 10 or more percentage points away from the objective. State-specific obesity prevalence ranged from 18.7% to 32.0%.

Among 2007 BRFSS respondents:

• 25.6% were obese.
• 26.4% of men and 24.8% of women were obese.
• The obesity prevalence ranged from 19.1% for men and women aged 18--29 years to 31.7% and 30.2%, respectively, for men and women aged 50--59 years.
• By race/ethnicity and sex the obesity prevalence was highest for non-Hispanic black women (39.0%) followed by non-Hispanic black men (32.1%).
• The obesity prevalence was higher in the South (27.3%) and Midwest (26.5%) and lower in the Northeast (24.4%) and West (23.1%).

CDC conducts obesity prevention programs and activities in many different settings and with a wide range of partners, including state and local health and education departments and communities across the country. For example, as part of CDC’s Nutrition and Physical Activity Program to Prevent Obesity and Other Chronic Diseases, the Washington State implemented a community intervention that promotes environmental and policy changes to help encourage healthful nutrition and physical activity behavior. Changes include widening sidewalks, connecting systems of paths for pedestrians and cyclists in a community, and creating community gardens.

CDC also works with employers and work-site health experts to translate evidence-based recommendations from the Task Force on Community Preventive Services (2) on work-site interventions for preventing obesity into business practice. One product from this collaboration will include a return on investment cost calculator to assist businesses in making the case for initiation and maintenance of wellness programs, especially those that promote weight management. In addition, an interactive website will provide guidance for the creation, expansion or customization of work-site obesity programs. These tools and products will enable employers to more easily implement the evidenced-based recommendations.