An eye-opening report published recently by the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports noted that much of the increase in obesity over the past two decades is related to several interacting environmental factors including less time and space to engage in physical activity; more time watching TV, surfing the Internet, and playing video games; less walking or riding bikes to school; larger portion sizes offered by the food industry; greater consumption of processed carbohydrates; and lack of time in schools and the workplace to provide physical activity breaks. Obesity leads to many health problems, most notably type 2 diabetes, joint pain, cardiovascular disease, arthritis, fatigue, and sleep disorders. The deadly combination of an inactive lifestyle and excessive fast food consumption has created an emerging condition known as environmental disability.

Read the entire column at http://www.ncpad.org/244/1600/2004-11~Issue~~Environmental~Disability