Obesity a modern plague

The evidence is like something from a Stephen King novel. A plague is sweeping across our country and through our communities. Everyone agrees it is a horrible thing and many people and groups are working desperately to stop it.

A few people, though, are abetting the disease – because the fight against it, like many life and death battles, is making too much noise.

The disease is obesity and the numbers and the effects are scarier than anything the master of the macabre could have written. A third of St. Clair County adults are obese – not overweight, obese. Something like 15 percent of St. Clair County children are obese – not overweight, obese. The numbers here are similar to the stats for the state of Michigan, where one in 10 adults suffers from obesity-related diabetes and one in three has obesity-related hypertension. Add in the other diseases linked to obesity – cancer, arthritis, heart disease, stroke, the list goes on – and other costs and the annual bill to Michigan’s economy is about $7 billion a year.

The precise causes of the obesity epidemic here and elsewhere are manifold and complex, and range from federal subsidies of high-calorie crops to too much time spent in front of TV, smart phone and computer screens.

Mainly, it’s that we eat too much and exercise too little.

So when a group of teenagers comes together and works with government and non-government groups to find a way to get their peers exercising more, we think that is sort of heroic.

Owen Jones, McKenna Currah, Delaney Barr, Hunter Austin and Nate Wilson, all students at Port Huron Northern High School at the time, went to a grant-writing workshop. When they finished, they applied their new skills to secure $10,000 in funding from the Youth Voice Grant of Southeast Michigan Community Foundation and the Youth Advisory Council of the St. Clair County Community Foundation to rebuild the all-but-useless basketball court at Port Huron’s Palmer Park.

Unbelievably, instead of getting an award, they are getting a slap in the face from critics who now complain that people are playing in Palmer Park. We’re willing to call it playing, because that’s what parks are for, if it gets more kids and adults out exercising in the fresh air.

Yes, it may make a little noise. It sounds like victory to us.

-The Times Herald (Port Huron)

Tobacco ban good for campus

Michigan State University will go tobacco free August 15, following a trend of bans already in place at 1,500 college campuses across the nation.

Students, faculty, staff, administrators and guests will be subject to the ban, which is not only a ban on cigarettes – it also includes chewing tobacco, e-cigarettes, vapes and more.

The community should applaud this decision, one that could positively impact public health for the campus, city and beyond. In a recent LSJ Editorial Board meeting, MSU President Lou Anna Simon said the ban started with a task force in 2013 and has developed from there.

“In Bolder by Design, we had the goal of becoming one of the healthiest campuses in America,” she said. Tobacco use raises a serious concern about health and safety, and that affects students’ desire and ability to learn, she said.

Enforcement will be a challenge. Just like the ban on smoking near buildings, there will be no “tobacco police” being deployed or special initiatives to catch perpetrators and make them pay fines.

But being part of the solution, following the trend at campuses nationwide – including the University of Michigan and several other Big Ten universities – makes a clear statement about tobacco that will hopefully act as a deterrent. The MSU ban does go further than some others; the need to ban devices, such as e-cigarettes, is a new problem that pre-dates other campus policies.

And the MSU ban includes use of tobacco while in your personal vehicle on MSU property.

Ongoing communication will be key; while those who work and live will know about it, visitors to campus – including football fans at tailgates – may be unaware.

This is an opportunity for MSU stakeholders to lead the discussion and work to show the true purpose of the ban: make a positive impact on public health.

Education is available for those who wish to learn more about the negative effects of tobacco in its many forms, and free cessation resources can be found online. Use them.

Information about the ban, a timeline of how it developed and resources for education and cessation can be found at tobaccofree.msu.edu. This a significant step in the right direction for the health and safety of the campus community, and for the fight against tobacco use.

– The Lansing State Journal