America's obesity rate growing, at crisis point

Today's BBC News has a story on the ever-increasing rate of overweight and obesity in America. The picture is not pretty:
[T]he situation had reached crisis point and current policies were failing.

Currently, about 119 million, or 64.5%, of US adults are either overweight or obese.

According to projections, 73% of US adults could be overweight or obese by 2008, Trust for America's Health warned. . . .

"We have reached a state of policy paralysis in regards to obesity," [said] Shelley Hearne of Trust for America's Health

"We have a crisis of poor nutrition and physical inactivity in the US and it's time we dealt with it." . . .

"This is no cosmetic irritation, it is a serious medical problem."
Study after study has shown that the only way to reduce this dangerous and expensive trend is to change the built environment--our cities and streets--to make them safer and more inviting for walking and bicycling, and for individuals to build walking and bicycling into the ordinary everyday activities of their lives.

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