Making healthier choices here and beyond

Obesity is a big challenge in the United States, with 78.6 million adults considered obese. That's almost 35 percent of the total population, according to the most recent statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Closer to home, the problem is no less troubling.

A new Community Health Assessment by the Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center and its partner organizations has found that the obesity rate is 39 percent locally. The assessment is completed every three years.

Other findings include 21 percent of the county's overall population is active smokers and more than 20 percent of mothers smoked while pregnant. The total population in the county is 78,043, according to the latest numbers from the U.S. Census.

Along these same lines, heart disease ranks as "statistically significant" in the county, with 346 deaths attributed to the disease from 2012 to 2013.

In this age of information and treatment, we should be a healthier society. But, as the numbers indicate, the movement toward greater well-being, personally and communally, continues to elude many of us, near and far.

Why is that? Is it just busy schedules combined with too much processed food and lack of exercise? Too many hours spent staring at electronic device screens instead of walking, biking and running? Too much stress? Simple laziness?

The truth is, the reasons for these problems are many. And they are not easy to solve. Healthy choices begin with each of us, and if we aren't willing to do what it takes to maintain our physical health, then, collectively, we have a problem. The numbers bear this out.

Healthy choices take effort and willpower, especially when so many distractions and temptations tug us this way and that.

We encourage you to take the time and make the effort to improve your health.