Wednesday, March 2, 2011

“Fast Times” in RVA

So Richmond VA has received the dubious honor of being ranked #3 in the Nation for the number of “Fast Food” restaurants per capita.

According to a report by WTVR 6 news which cited a study conducted by “The Daily Beast” there are 274 fast food chains, in RVA.

The study says that's 134 fast food joints per 100,000 residents.

The news story also mentioned that a Virginia childhood obesity survey found that 60 percent of adults in Virginia are obese or overweight, and that one in three children are struggling with weight and health issues.

The issue is significant enough that a Senator has introduced legislation to expand the existing mandatory P.E. time in Virginia schools.

The Senator (who is also a pediatric neurologist), pointed out that; "For the first time in history, children who are born now will have a shorter life expectancy than those who were born before them."

It doesn’t take a pediatric neurologist to show a connection between the two…

I was under the impression that we were flanked by two “foodie” oriented towns, (Richmond & Charlottesville), both of which seem to have a vibrant local food scene with a lot of independent options.

Am I wrong in my assumption?

Are my eyes so clouded by the fact that my wife creates food that rivals most restaurants that I never saw this coming?

So what is wrong with Richmond or VA for that matter?

Seriously, what’s the deal?

Granted I am a healthy convert, I acknowledge that I “fell of the wagon” for about a decade during my 20’s.

But are we really that lazy of a society that the federal government has to mandate exercise for our kids?

Think about that idea for a minute...

If you can’t control your life then the feds will certainly accommodate you.

Am I missing something here?

Without good health (Both physical & mental) you have nothing, there is no counter argument, no devil’s advocate, no “yeah buts”. It’s what we refer to as a “fact”.

Tell me that I don’t understand.

Tell me “Just wait until you have kids of your own”.

Granted, I don’t have children but should I ever go that route you can rest assured that I won’t be using them as an excuse for my short comings.

To me, the tide rises and falls with healthy living, and not just in what you eat but how you think as well.

Think of it as a full circle, Mind, Body, & Spirit

Oh, and kids should get the chance to be….well, kids.

Steve

2 comments:

  1. Fast food is "convenient" and it's easy when you have kids...there's just not many "healthy" type options that offer the same quick, drive up and get your food type of service unfortunately...

    maybe you should start one??
    :)

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  2. Joel I don’t have the capital or talent to start a health food shop. I get the convenience argument but you would actually save money and promote healthier food options by packing say an organic P&J and some carrots for a road trip with the kids. I didn’t get the impression you were a fast food type guy, in fact I was going to mention this subject on your commuting forum post but I didn’t want to "accidentally" highjack your topic. (By the way it’s cool that you got a response back from the county).

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