Why is nutrition important? This is like asking “Why do we breathe?”.  If you don’t think nutrition is important, then you are basically saying that you don’t think life is important.  Pro-tip: Healthy eating can extend your life by decades.

Obesity rates are swelling in 28 of our states.  I’m no math major, but that tells me that more than half the country is getting fatter.  And obesity isn’t something these millions of people purposefully set out to achieve.  Obesity happens simply from lack of physical activity and poor nutrition.

Engaging in physical activity doesn’t take much education, its more of  a habit.  Habits are difficult to form but once you form them they are difficult to break.  It comes down to choices: going for a walk instead of watching American Idol re-runs, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, playing sports instead of watching them, etc.

But nutrition does require a little education.  Its the yin to exercise’s yang.  Its the “better half” in the marriage between the two.  Here’s the breakdown:

Energy: Would you put watered down gas in your car? I sure hope not.  The same goes for your body: if you want maximum energy is your habit to grab a Snickers from the junk food machine or trail mix from a healthy vending machine?  Replacing your unhealthy go-to energy fixes with food that actually does give you energy is the first step.  Your body’s favorite fuel comes from carbohydrates: glucose.  If you eat too many simple carbohydrates (sugar and starch), your body will store these as fat.  And if you don’t have enough glucose it will create some from your fat and protein stores.

Building Blocks: Your body requires a few essential structural components in order to maintain healthy muscles, bones, your immune system, hormonal balance, nervous system, and organs: protein, calcium, and fats.

The protein in your body is naturally broken down into amino acids, which are used to repair various parts of your body. Your body naturally produces 11 non-essential amino acids that aren’t available from food.  There are an additional 9 amino acids you must have in your diet in order to maintain a high level of protein production.  Protein is the main structural component in your cells, comprising 17 percent of your total body weight!

Calcium mainly keeps your bones (and teeth) strong, but also helps the function of muscles and nerves.  It even helps prevent your blood from clotting!

FAT.  Ok, there’s a lot of confusion over fat.  Because we describe obese people as “fat”, we automatically assume its because they ate too much fat.  Not necessarily true.  WE NEED FAT! Just not all fat.  Basically: unsaturated = good, saturated = bad.

Vitamins & Minerals: Vitamins and minerals function as co-enzymes, helping the efficiency of different chemical reactions that happen in your body.  Best if found in natural and organic foods rather than a supplement.

So that’s the run-down.  Of course that was a very simple explanation of nutrition, which is as complex of a subject as the fields its related to: biology, chemistry, physiology, etc.  Bottom line is to use your common sense!Your body instinctively knows what is better for you when faced with the choice between Coke and water, vegetables over donuts, or brown rice over Twinkies.

When I picture an “Obesity Task Force”, I picture Richard Simmons barking orders drill-sergeant style to a platoon of spandex-clad fitness freaks.  Apparently I’m way off, because the real Obesity Task Force is deadly serious about creating healthy schools and healthy kids.

The Obesity Task Force (where people wear suits, not spandex) was created by President Obama in 2009 and is closely related to the First Lady’s “Let’s Move” campaign.  These initiatives represent the sense of urgency felt in all levels of government and society to implement concrete changes to the lifestyles of our nation’s youth.  Obesity is on the rise, healthy eating is plummeting, and physical activity is grinding to a halt.

So what makes the OTF different from every other committee that simply talks but never delivers real meaningful change? It all comes down to action plans.

According to a White House statement, the Obesity Task Force plan aims to achieve the following:

“1. Getting children a healthy start on life, with good prenatal care for their parents; support for breastfeeding; and quality child care settings with nutritious food and ample opportunity for young children to be physically active.”

In my opinion this starts at home.  If you let your kid eat McDonald’s all the time, grab soda from a traditional vending machine instead of fruit juice from a healthy vending machine, and let them sit in front of the tube all day then OF COURSE they’ll be fat.

“2. Empowering parents and caregivers with simpler, more actionable messages about nutritional choices based on the latest Dietary Guidelines for Americans; improved labels on food and menus that provide clear information to help make healthy choices for children; reduced marketing of unhealthy products to children; and improved health care services, including BMI measurement for all children.”

Kids are like lemmings.  Or do I mean monkeys? Or do I mean a weird hybrid animal between the two? (Pause here to picture this and laugh.  Now pull yourself together and keep reading).  The point is they mimic and follow what we big people do.  If they see mom and dad caring about what they eat then they will too.

“3. Providing healthy food in schools, through improvements in federally supported school lunches and breakfasts; upgrading the nutritional quality of other foods sold in schools; and improving nutrition education and the overall school environment.”

Here’s where the school board and administrators come in.  Kids are at the mercy of your cafeteria.  With the government SUBSIDIZING your food through the National School Lunch Program, you need to choose a healthy food service.  Natural and organic foods are much better fuel for learning than the alternative. Also, replace those Coke and Pepsi machines with a healthy vending machine!

“4. Improving access to healthy, affordable food by eliminating “food deserts” in urban and rural America; lowering the relative prices of healthier foods; developing or reformulating food products to be healthier; and reducing the incidence of hunger, which has been linked to obesity.”

Low number of food options means low quality of food options.  Healthy snacks don’t just grow on trees. Oh wait, they do, they’re called apples.  But last I checked there aren’t too many apple trees in the city.  That leaves vast stretches of concrete jungle where fast food and candy/soda machines dominate your eyesight.  And until  healthy vending machines and natural food stores become conveniently common, people will keep hitting those drive-thrus.

“5. Getting children more physically active through quality physical education, recess and other opportunities in and after school; addressing aspects of the “built environment” that make it difficult for children to walk or bike safely in their communities; and improving access to safe parks, playgrounds, and indoor and outdoor recreational facilities.”

I interpreted this as “make gym class fun again”.  Kids have vast stores of energy, and this needs to be channeled into things other than video games and YouTube.  And I doubt kids are going to argue with more recess time.  Being able to ride their bikes without fear of getting hit by passing motorists would also be a plus.

Bottom line is I like where this Obesity Task Force is headed.  The gray suits are a little boring, and maybe they could use some of Richard Simmons’ flare, but they are taking a bold step in battling one of our country’s greatest threats: unhealthy children.