This is the perfect time to acknowledge our nation’s obesity epidemic

Editor, The Times:

This week is Mardi Gras, also known as Fat Tuesday. Since every party needs a pooper, this is one I am happy to crash [“Brazzy Fat Tuesday gets on the bus,” NWWednesday, Feb. 22].

Take New Orleans, La., for example, renowned for its celebration of Fat Tuesday. Yet, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 2010 state obesity rates, 31 percent of Louisiana’s population is obese. That puts Louisiana at a tie with Texas for the sixth fattest state in the U.S.

The Louisiana newspaper, the Monroe News Star, points out that Louisianans should take note that Tuesday is not the only thing that is overweight in their state.

One-third of U.S. adults are obese and roughly 17 percent of children and adolescents are obese. This Mardi Gras put your drinks down and leave your shirts on, because Fat Tuesday is the perfect time to acknowledge our nation’s obesity epidemic.

Obesity is preventable and curable. Commit to smarter eating habits and the recommended daily exercise for your age to avoid the increased risks of high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes that comes with obesity every day of the week, not just the annual Fat Tuesday.

— Catherine Hudson, Seattle