Public Meetings Aim To Cut Obesity Rates

The State Health Department has started holding public meetings to get public reaction to the goals set by the Missouri Council on Prevention and Management of Overweight and Obesity. It’s a little-known state organization that wants to have a big impact on how we live … or die. The Council has set a series of goals designed to fight the fat in Missourians by increasing the number of fruits and vegetables consumed, increasing breast-feeding rates, increasing physical activity rates, and cutting the rates of obesity and overweight among children and adults. Program Coordinator Donna Mehrle says several diseases are tied to overweight and obesity. She says there’s no magic pill, that proper diet and exercise are the keys. She adds the goal of the program is to have Missourians enjoying the best health they can have – whatever their weight is. The first public meeting on goals was held last week in Poplar Bluff. The second one is being held Monday in jefferson City. Others will be in St. Louis, Macon, Independence, and Springfield.