"The Weight of the Nation" on Obesity to Show Thursday

Last month Dr. Richard Jackson's visit was only semi-public, but this month, a different view on obesity is getting more press.

On Thursday at 6:30 at the Grand Theater, Marion County Public health, Salem health, Salem Progressive Film Series, the YMCA, Catholic Community Services and Kaiser Permanente northwest are showing the local premiere The Weight of the Nation.



Hopefully there will be talk about needed policy and planning changes.

Graphic from SB 931: Task Force for a Comprehensive Obesity Prevention Initiative: Policy Recommendations

As Jackson points out in Designing Healthy Communities, there is a strong

link between our health and the way our communities — especially our suburbs — are designed. Obesity, asthma, diabetes and heart disease are all aggravated by the auto-centric way we live our lives today.

Much of the talk around obesity is framed as making better individual choices, especially in eating, but not so much about the way our communities are planned and designed to make healthy choices more difficult. Auto-centric communities make walking and biking difficult and costly in time, for example. The choice for moderate exercise should be easy, not seem heroic!