Social engineering fixes to obesity

Are you obese? Check youre Body Mass Index easily with this BMI calculator
http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/bmicalc.htm

Ad Campaigns
In the effort to lower America's collective weight, getting told to shape up seems to have extended to a federal government anti-obesity campaign. Last year, the Centers for Disease Control launched a multimedia advertising blitz aimed at getting children to become more active, carrying the theme "Verb, it's what you do."
Criticized for being too vague and ineffective, campaign creators Saatchi & Saatchi have added $68.4 million to the $125 million price tag and have developed more direct suggestions to exercise-shy U.S. children. One print ad, for example, shows children playing volleyball and includes the words "Get out, go play."
Meanwhile, Florida Governor Jeb Bush has appointed a task force to study how to bring down obesity levels in his state. With 60% of Floridians overweight, and obesity rates in all age categories increasing, citizens of Florida are becoming as round as their famous oranges. Less than 26% of Florida adults eat the daily recommended five servings of fruits and vegetables, with around the same amount categorized as physically inactive. The task force will pay particular attention to high-school age children, one quarter of whom are, or at risk of becoming, overweight.
http://www.allbusiness.com/marketing-advertising/advertising/669488-1.html

Junk Food Tax
The Congressional Budget Office estimated in December that a tax of 3 cents on every 12-ounce can of soda would raise $50 billion over 10 years. Not surprisingly, a soda tax is among the revenue streams being eyed as U.S. lawmakers tackle healthcare reform.
About 58 percent of Americans are willing to bear a tax increase of 1 percent or more to support healthcare reform, according to a recent Thomson Reuters survey.
Although a debate rages over the efficacy of taxes on soda and other items, supporters point to the fall in smoking rates after taxes sent cigarette prices soaring.
"The research around tobacco has shown that large increases on taxes on cigarettes has been the single most effective policy to reduce tobacco use," said Mary Story, a dietitian and public health professor at the University of Minnesota.
Story figures that a 10 percent increase in sugar-sweetened beverage prices could cut consumption by 8 percent to 10 percent.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5806E520090901

Increase Pysical Activity = Increase Calories Burned
Understanding how many calories you burn on a daily basis will help you understand how many calories you should be eating in order to maintain this equal balance of "calories in" versus "calories out."
Everyone burns a different amount of calories each day. Things such as age, activity level, medications, medical conditions, and genetics play a role in the number of calories a person can burn. Some of these factors you cannot control -- age being the most obvious. However, there are a number of other things that you have direct control over.
Experts agree that one of the most important things that you can do to prevent obesity is to increase physical activity.

For example:

If you normally... Try this instead!
Park as close as possible to the store Park farther away
Let the dog out back Take the dog for a walk
Take the elevator Take the stairs
Have lunch delivered Walk to pick up lunch
Relax while the kids play Get involved in their activity
http://weight-loss.emedtv.com/obesity/obesity-prevention.html