Has anyone considered that obesity could be as much a symptom of our health care system than a cause of overcost? We as a nation have never really pushed nutrition and fitness as a serious health issue. Rather, it is seen as a social issue based on looks and status.

Because there is no incentive to watch not only our weight but the weight of others, we have become the fattest nation. Look how long it took to redo the food "pyramid"? Perhaps, once we have to start looking at how obesity increases OUR health costs, we may start paying more attention.

Because, as any in health care will tell you, its cheaper to keep people healthy than to make people healthy. What a socialized health program will do is focus more on prophylactic treatment rather than therapeutic. Nutrition and fitness in schools will again become priority. As the educational process increases, so will our health and output. Improved nutritional practices and physical stamina correlate directly with improved study and work habits.

In a nutshell, fix our health care, we fix our weight problem.