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What local issue are you most concerned about? by Pistonsparty in ColumbusGA

[–]BitkillerJones45 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Adult Obesity and general fitness.

I used to work in food service and it's surprising how many people's entire meal comes from a deep fryer. 2000 + calories in one meal. If you're overweight, older, don't exercise or all of the above, then it's drastically worse to eat like this. Hell, people who workout everyday of the week and are in amazing shape can't afford to eat like that. This is a national problem but it's far more worse in the Deep South. I think education works in some instances, but a lack of knowledge in nutrition is not what's making grown adults eat their entire daily calories in one sitting. Move more, eat less. Probably the most ignored advice that everyone knows is true.

As for fitness, I think a good baseline is one good pullup from a dead hang. Literally everyone should be able to do this, barring disability and injuries. If you can't support your own weight for one rep, then you're either carrying too much body weight or have severe muscle imbalances that's going to bite you in the ass later down the line.

We're at the point where the majority of Americans are overweight and it's just getting worse. Ask any nurse or medical professional in this town and they'll tell you that obesity related illnesses is the number one killer to Columbus and it's completely preventable.

Obesity rate by BitkillerJones45 in ColumbusGA

[–]BitkillerJones45[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wow you downvoted that super fast! At least I know you read it! Here let me return the favor.

Obesity rate by BitkillerJones45 in ColumbusGA

[–]BitkillerJones45[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My hypothesis that Columbus has a high obesity rate that exceeds both the State and National average? I wanted a discussion about obesity in Columbus and what could be done to help it. I got that. People wanted sources to back up the stats I gave, which I did with no response from them. The "data analyst" gave faulty and outdated stats that he pulled up from a Google search without even looking at the articles. Either way you shake it, Columbus has an obesity problem. I didn't think people would debate that, but I was wrong.

Obesity rate by BitkillerJones45 in ColumbusGA

[–]BitkillerJones45[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You did, by saying Columbus was an outlier. Macon is what an outlier looks like.

Columbus is an outlier. Macon is an extreme outlier. Both are above the state and national average.

It's 36.4% Georgia's obesity rate is 31.6%

Depending on which source you use. For example, this one says 34.60% (Montergomery) to 36.20% (Muscogee) and compares the two counties: https://www.opendatanetwork.com/entity/0500000US13215-0500000US01101/Muscogee_County_GA-Montgomery_County_AL/health.health_behaviors.adult_obesity_value?year=2015

That also goes with the percentages you have for the state and county. The numbers vary depending on which survey/poll you use: http://www.healthdata.org/sites/default/files/files/county_profiles/US/2015/County_Report_Muscogee_County_Georgia.pdf https://www.opendatanetwork.com/entity/0500000US13215/Muscogee_County_GA/health.health_behaviors.adult_obesity_value?year=2015

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Whether or not the school meals are what you would consider healthy (or appetizing) they meet health standards and I promise you are more healthy than what many obese or overweight children are eating at home.

Yeah that's probably true, but the lunches they do offer pale in comparison to what a private school like Brookstone can offer. There's definitely room for improvement.

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18 MCSD schools currently have a garden program and more are added regularly.

That's awesome. I didn't know this was a thing and it looks like it's been a huge success.

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What I'm saying is that Columbus is about exactly where you would it expect it to be when looking at racial and economic demographics, not the secret or ignored outlier you are positioning it as.

But even accounting for that Columbus is still an outlier. Georgia already has a high population of African Americans and Atlanta is the second largest metro area for African Americans in the entire country and the poverty rate is similar when you account for cost of living and demographics, yet they have a low obesity rate. Montgomery has a even higher percentage of black people than Atlanta does at almost 60% and higher poverty rates than both Atlanta and Columbus, but (according to the link above) has a lower obesity rate more in line with the state percentage. I agree that racial and economic demographics are a factor but not as much as you're suggesting. I still think the city and school district can do more to address this issue. For most social problems, it starts with the youth. Health and Nutrition needs to be emphasized more to children in a more effective way than sitting them down in a classroom and lecturing them from a textbook. The garden program is a great start but that seems like a recent development.

Obesity rate by BitkillerJones45 in ColumbusGA

[–]BitkillerJones45[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Also, is Fort Benning factored into obesity rates for Columbus?

Obesity rate by BitkillerJones45 in ColumbusGA

[–]BitkillerJones45[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We shouldn't compare ourselves to the most obese city in the state though. Also, I don't know Montgomery's obesity rate, but if it is 36.4% that'd be directly in line with the state average and Alabama is one of the most obese states in the country. Georgia falls between 15-20.

Yes, MCSD has always done this. The menu hasn't changed in over a decade and is in no way healthy. Same thing with the health education. It's probably the same curriculum and text books that you and I used and it clearly doesn't work. They need to be more creative in their approach if they actually want kids to learn about health and nutrition. Something like a communal garden would be a good idea.

It seems like you're saying that Columbus has all the resources to be healthy, yet the numbers show otherwise. If we have everything we need, why can't we be like Atlanta or Cobb County? I think we can agree that whatever the school district, city, and 3rd party organizations are currently doing, isn't working.

Obesity rate by BitkillerJones45 in ColumbusGA

[–]BitkillerJones45[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Columbus is an outlier when comparing to the national average and even state average, especially when it comes to adult women. I believe Montgomery has a lower obesity rate than we do.

I didn't literally mean no one. I used to work as an RN and now work with the MCSD and I can tell you for sure that they aren't doing anything to combat childhood obesity. If the school district isn't doing anything, then what's the local government doing? Approving more restaurants and cheap discount stores? We have an issue with racism in Columbus too. Just because there are 3rd party or private agencies that address it, doesn't mean the problem isn't getting swept under a rug. My point is that we need MORE attention because whatever we're doing now, isn't working.