Michelle and Nancy

Many of you are too young to remember or not familiar with humourous digs at a former political leader's spouse in another country.

Does the saying, "Okay, Nancy, I said 'no.' Now what?", sound familiar?  If you recall, it or one like it was a bumper sticker created in satirical response to Nancy Reagan's "Just Say No To Drugs" reformation effort.

I haven't seen any bumper stickers satirising Michelle Obama's anti-obesity social reform.

However, I can look at drug use statistics and see drug abuse hasn't gone away.

Having just participated in the population count called the U.S. decennial census, I'm more keenly aware of demographic data useful for improving sociopoliticoeconomic conditions.

Wandering the halls of a local hospital, including the admissions area, anecdotally I say there is a higher percentage of people (as patients) with excess weight walking or wheeling around than I see in other social/public areas of life.

Do I?

Michelle, you have access to bureaus and departments that will furnish or have gladly furnished you national-level health statistics.  Is that what motivated you to pursue a decrease in obesity for youth and adults alike?

According to BMI charts, I am borderline obese.

After having over a week to observe hospital personnel and hospital patients, I feel like I have first-hand knowledge of the reasons why we should be concerned about obesity as a health crisis/epidemic.

What I don't have is the burning desire to decrease my weight, which puts me at increased risk for health problems as I age.

People-versus-pigeons is the same argument to me as the comparison between people with healthy habits (and congenitally-healthy genes) versus people with unhealthy habits (and congenitally-unhealthy genes).

Where do we draw the lines that separate the lucky ones, the ones whose self-control focuses on tight health-related restrictions, and those, like me, who enjoy the moment for the moment, let the future be what it may, costs not an object?

There's another golden rule we joke about: those who have the gold make the rules.  If you're loaded, are you getting loaded?  If you're broke, are you going for broke?

These are just words.  Reality is much more complicated.  Our species faces a health poverty of affluence - are we ready to pay that bill?

Am I?