Obesity is such a friendly word. It has a certain sophisticated aura about it that makes it seem less threatening than it really is. So let’s a call a spade a spade and a rose a rose, because by any other name … Kids in Watsonville are officially obese. In real life, they are fat. Not heavyset, not full-bodied, not horizontally tall. Thirty-six percent of the kids in Watsonville are fat, and that’s a real problem. It’s a health risk, first and foremost, and makes them prone to such diseases at diabetes, high cholesterol and heart disease. How ironic that this is taking place in an area known around the world for its fresh fruits and vegetables. Especially so because the obesity rate is almost double the average for all of California, which tips the scales at about 20 percent.
The city is doing what it can to tackle the problem. One camp for local youngsters offers a six-week program that includes physical activity and ideas about healthy food choices. Potato chips and bug juice are not the snack of choice there. Instead the kids get veggies and, unbelievably for my generation, they learn how to play outside. The program is free because of grant funding.
Still, Dr. Jose Chibras is concerned. As Chief Medical Officer and Interim CEO of Salud Para La Gente, he calls obesity an epidemic. What he should probably add is that it will take its toll on all of us. Obesity rates are highest among the poor, and the poor are the people least likely to have adequate medical coverage. The costs, in turn, bounce back on the taxpayers. In an article in the Huffington Post, Glenn Hurowitz and Dr. Rahul Rajkumar argued that one way to get people healthy again is walk half an hour more a day. They list simple steps like hiking trails and bike paths as essential to maintaining our health in our sedentary lifestyles. What better place for hiking is there than Santa Cruz County? What better place for biking? Now all we have to do is get the kids out there doing it. Read more at KSBW.
