University of Texas Tower
Why the City's Change of Heart?
RECEIVED Mon., Oct. 4, 2010
Dear Editor,
In 2001 the Surgeon General issued a "Call to Action to Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity." The initiative aimed to reduce the percentage of obese adults in the United States to 15% by 2010. A worthwhile initiative to be sure, but, unfortunately, it failed miserably. Today, obesity among adult Americans has increased to 34%. According to every health agency in America, lack of exercise is cited as a root cause.
Despite the massive failure of states to take up the Surgeon General’s call, there have been some great successes. In 2009 Austin was recognized by Forbes as the 10th fittest city in America, largely for its parks that are used for kayaking, yoga, jogging, paddle boarding, flag football, boot camps, mommy workouts, doggy workouts, and mountain biking. In contrast, the rest of Texas is approaching a Top 10 status for obese states, because the rest of Texas is getting, well, more obese. How can Austin continue to lead the way for Texas in the fight against obesity? The most recent suggestion is to ban some group activities in these parks unless they pay for a permit. Wait, what? We want to encourage people to utilize Austin’s parks promoting outdoor activity by limiting the use of these parks for outdoor activity. Yeah, it didn’t make any more sense to me the second time around either.
The city of Austin is concerned that more groups are attending parks during peak hours, and there’s been some additional maintenance as a result. Clearly these issues are more important than addressing health issues which are projected to cost Texas $15.6 billion this year.
Resolution No. 12902 approved by the City Council in 2006 states that the city will support recreation programs that encourage active living. Why the sudden change of heart?
In 2001 the Surgeon General issued a "Call to Action to Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity." The initiative aimed to reduce the percentage of obese adults in the United States to 15% by 2010. A worthwhile initiative to be sure, but, unfortunately, it failed miserably. Today, obesity among adult Americans has increased to 34%. According to every health agency in America, lack of exercise is cited as a root cause.
Despite the massive failure of states to take up the Surgeon General’s call, there have been some great successes. In 2009 Austin was recognized by Forbes as the 10th fittest city in America, largely for its parks that are used for kayaking, yoga, jogging, paddle boarding, flag football, boot camps, mommy workouts, doggy workouts, and mountain biking. In contrast, the rest of Texas is approaching a Top 10 status for obese states, because the rest of Texas is getting, well, more obese. How can Austin continue to lead the way for Texas in the fight against obesity? The most recent suggestion is to ban some group activities in these parks unless they pay for a permit. Wait, what? We want to encourage people to utilize Austin’s parks promoting outdoor activity by limiting the use of these parks for outdoor activity. Yeah, it didn’t make any more sense to me the second time around either.
The city of Austin is concerned that more groups are attending parks during peak hours, and there’s been some additional maintenance as a result. Clearly these issues are more important than addressing health issues which are projected to cost Texas $15.6 billion this year.
Resolution No. 12902 approved by the City Council in 2006 states that the city will support recreation programs that encourage active living. Why the sudden change of heart?
Jerry Jenson
