Our country is in sad shape - UPDATE

Our country is in sad shape, and I'm not referring to any of the myriad issues that dominate the news and pundits on the left and right.  It is our citizenry that is in sad shape.

One doesn't need to be a scientist or health care professional to realize the sad shape of our citizens.  One just needs a pair of eyes.  The evidence is right before us.

It became startling apparent as I reviewed pictures from my grade school days.  You know, those posed group pictures taken in the classrooms or gymnasiums, with the awkward students lined up for the annual class photo.  Reviewing the pictures from that time in my life, there was the occasional pudgy student.  But there weren't any I'd describe as obese.  By comparison, looking at more recent photos taken from my time working on a middle school campus, several students can easily be described as obese.  Too many of our youngsters are simply too damned heavy.

And it isn't only our youngsters.

Today I ran some errands that took me to the local mall.  My lord, the number of obese adults was astounding.  Like many of us, I've probably become so used to seeing this obesity that it fades into the background when out and about.  Today, however, I took note.  And the note is pretty sad.  Countless adults waddled through the parking lots and down the mall aisles.  With so many obese adults, it is no wonder we have obese children.

Looking more closely at my fellow citizens, it wasn't only the obese that caught my attention.  Using purely subjective judgment, I venture to say that the vast majority (easily 85-90%) of the adults I saw at the mall today couldn't run a mile under ten minutes, if at all.  Some looked as if there were having problems just walking in from their cars.  Since it is summer, shorts of varying styles dominated adult attire and from the looks of the visible calves of my fellow citizens, fitness and muscles are not priorities.

My purely unscientific analysis based on an hour's observation is nonetheless closer than farther from the truth.  Our citizens are simply in sad shape.

It would be easy to start listing what can be viewed as the causes (lack of physical labor, abundance of fat and sugar in our foods, absence of rigorous physical training in our schools, video games instead of being outdoors playing sports, absence of previous shame for being out of shape, activists celebrating the "right" to be obese, the apologist society in which we find ourselves, etc.).  But the causes are just too many to list.

Perhaps the biggest factor is the lack of individual responsibility, a trait that must be taught and expected in the home by the father and mother.  Responsibility to eat correctly, exercise, and take care of one's body.  Responsibility for one's appearance, rather than blaming everything and everyone else.  Responsibility for one's health and general fitness.

For crying out loud, well past age 60, I make time to exercise at least 90 minutes a day, with even more several days each week.  Together with my wife, we enjoy a reasonable, healthy diet.  In doing so, we aren't fanatical about it: we ensure balanced meals, take vitamins, drink plenty of water, and limit that "bad" stuff.  We are responsible for our fitness.

All too many of our fellow citizens are irresponsible, directly leading to our country being in sad shape.        

UPDATE:

The Gallup - Healthways Well Being Index (http://www.gallup.com/poll/170264/adult-obesity-rate.aspx) indicates 35.5% of American adults are overweight, with an astonishing 27.7% categorized as obese.  The 2014 reported 27.7% rate of obesity has grown by more than 8% since 2008, even more astonishing.  Further, the rate for obesity among black adults is 35.3% according to the report from May 2014.