Few medicines as strong as exercise | exercise, medicine, muscle - Life - The Orange County Register

More and more research and information is pointing directly to Exercise as truly being "medicine". Not only is it necessary to avoid chronic illnesses such as heart disease & stroke, but mental health & well-being (as well as learning) are intrinsically linked to movement and exercise. We Physical Education folks and Fitness Professionals have "known" this for years via personal testimony and a pleathora of anctedotal stories.
Finally actual well-designed research is being published that document the changes at a bio-chemical & hormonal level. Exercise is so much more than neuro-muscular improvements. I would consider those changes healthy "side-effects" compared to the positive mental & emotional changes.

sAq

Few medicines as strong as exercise exercise, medicine, muscle - Life - The Orange County Register

Concerns as obesity surgery soars

On one hand I am glad the issue has finally come to light, come into and onto the publics consciousness.  On the other I'm deeply concerned about the issue.  It's NOT just the financial cost to society, and we all realize finally just how much, it's the cost to our own humanity.

The answer is NOT to beat down the individuals who are obese, but to encourage them to find the reason to battle the excesses and find the very personal reason to change.

That's for an educated and intelligent person.  BUT the obesity our nation deals with is also one of poverty. Our nations poor are under-educated and are subject to poor food choices being marketed and sold in their neighborhoods, schools, food pantries etc.

Recognizing the problem is only the first step to change.  In some neighborhoods it actually take strong community action to rid the area of "food garbage".

It's just my opinion.
Concerns as obesity surgery soars