Gifts of health

It’s February, the month for love. Your Statehouse bulges with people who profess to love you.

Now make them give you a Valentine’s bouquet of healthy legislation. State laws and regulations can nudge us toward healthier lives in myriad ways that don’t require massive outlays.

Here is how state legislators can say “I love you.”

• Help our children slim down. In 2012, more than one-third of children and adolescents were overweight or obese. A national report says 27 percent of all young adults are “too fat to serve in the military.”

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First, incorporate physical activity into the school regimen. Reinstate daily “gym” classes. Add after-school sports – not just the varsity sports for super-athletes, but the intramural sports open to everybody else. Consider physical-fitness standards for graduation, testing for “core strength” as part of the “core curriculum.”

Second, up the nutrition, lower the calories, in school lunches. Most children prefer French fries to broccoli. So what! The role of schools is not to placate children, but to nourish them.

• Help adults slim down. Make restaurants post the calorie counts of entrees. National chains do it. Diners will at least be mindful of the calories they eat.

Then move on to public-safety officials. Enforce fitness standards, not just for hiring but for tenure.

• Force us to sober up, at least behind the wheel. These laws are a hodgepodge. Can you drive with an open container of alcohol? When will a judge mandate an ignition interlock? What is the penalty for a repeat offender? It depends on the state, and, often, within the state, on the discretion of the judge. Toughen those laws.

These common-sense rules can bolster our health, spare our families grief and pare hospital budgets. And they are surely a better gift than chocolate or flowers. •


Joan Retsinas is a columnist for The Progressive Populist and contributing writer for Aging Today.

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