Obese-onomics

So...interestingly enough, I had quite the conversation today with the facilities department managers at UCLA. I met them in the cafeteria at work today, and sat down with them to discuss nutrition and wellness within their department.

Their concern..."We have several employeess (of our 1400) who are overweight and obese. This poses a problem when it comes to using ladders, and moving objects and working in general."

They also stated to me..."we love what you have done with the cafeteria here, and we're trying to get our employees to come here. The problem is not that they don't understand that the foods they eat are unhealthy, but it's a matter of price and convenience."

This gets back to my whole issue about the economics of obesity.

Why is it that unhealthy, convenience food is cheaper and easier to come by than healthy foods? Why?

It should be the other way around. Healthy foods should be less expensive.

When it comes to obese-onomics, this is no longer a game. People know that what they are doing to themselves is unhealthy. Why is it that we place a higher priority on big agribusiness and subsidizing the food industry to create unhealthy foods for such cheap prices???

What is the incentive? I just don't understand the driving forces behind this deceptive sales pitch. The price we pay now, is not reflective of the price that WILL be paid in the future.

We need to take charge and set a precedent for promoting health, saving costs both now and for the future. Healthy food NEEDS to be less expensive and JUST as convenient if not more so than the unhealthy foods. This will snow-ball and allow future costs to life, to health, to happiness, to be far less than the present environment allows for.

I'm but one small person, on a quest to make a difference. I can teach to my heart's content, I can speak to all the ears in the world...but, until my voice is heard in Washington D.C. along with the voices of hundreds of millions of other people, all fighting for the same cause...I have to ask. What will or can be done?

Who wants to help me in this fight?

If you do, I urge you to please post a comment with an email address, and I will happily add you to my cause!

Thanks.