Dear President-elect Obama: A Proposal to Curb Growth in the United States Dear President-elect Obama: Realizing that time is of the essence, I would like to propose a plan to curb growth in the United States. What? In these economic times?! Actually, the growth I am referring to is the “national poundage”, the epidemic crisis of obesity in the United States. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) attributes 400,000 deaths in our country each year to overweight, just 35,000 less than attributed to smoking; in 2002, more than $92 billion was spent on health care related to obesity. This problem affects Americans in all 50 states regardless of gender, age, state, ethnicity, or educational level, although it is worse for the young and the poor. More than half of the population meets the criteria for overweight, and even sadder, 64 % of children between the ages of 6 and 19 years of age are overweight. A child who is obese at age 12 has odds of 4 to 1 against maintaining a normal weight later; a person who is obese at age 18 faces odds of 28 to 1 against maintaining a normal adultweight. Obese people have an increased risk for a horrendous litany of serious health problems: hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, osteoarthritis, and even certain cancers, such as uterine, prostate, and colorectal. President Obama, I know that you have very pressing issues that face you, such as the dire straits of our economy and the war in Iraq. But progress in these areas would seem bittersweet if the health of our nation continues to decline. So, here is my proposal to engage the citizens and the government of our country in the “war on fat”. (2) The prescription for weight loss is pretty simple; the calories consumed must be less than the calories expended. The purpose of this proposal is not to present another diet plan; instead, the focus here is on the quality of calories consumed, particularly in the poorest of communities, for it is well established that the less...