Obesity Epidemic is Everywhere

It might be easier to say that the kids in Mexico are full force into an obesity epidemic.  However, all we need to do is look at ourselves.  The Superintendent of the Houston Independent School District sent out a memo this week informing his employees that 75% of all H.I.S.D. teachers are obese.  This is in the U.S. - not Mexico.  Maybe the L.A. Times should write an article about overweight teachers... (I also think that the overuse of student testing has stressed the teachers out so much that one of their few consolations is to eat more and eat badly)

While the American diet is bringing us all to the bring of our mortality, the kids in Mexico are gaining too much weight from eating American type food.
_______

Mexico faces soaring childhood obesity rate
Mexico’s biggest food worry used to be hunger, but now it’s in a quandary over how to get its children to lay off unhealthful snacks and exercise more. That is more complicated than they sound.

April 22, 2010Ken Ellingwood
Los Angeles Times
reporting from mexico city — The midmorning bell at Technical Secondary School No. 14 sets off a rush for the campus snack bar, where students jostle for chocolate bars, chili-flavored lollipops, packaged popcorn and sweetened fruit drinks.

There's yogurt and bottled water, but it doesn't seem much in demand
"Potato chips taste great," enthuses Daniel Cuevas, 13, clutching a bag of chips and a bottle of orange drink.

After class, youngsters are greeted by a phalanx of sidewalk vendors hawking jelly-filled cakes, ice cream, mayonnaise-slathered ears of corn, french fries topped with cheese and cans of soda to wash it down.

Then they head home for midafternoon lunch, the main meal of the day in Mexico.

Mexican health officials say overeating and poor dietary habits have contributed to a fast-rising childhood obesity rate, behind only the United States for highest in the world. One-quarter of all school-age Mexicans, and more than one-third of adolescents, are overweight or obese. (More than two-thirds of grownups are too heavy... link to complete article