MJ Podcast #183: Childhood Obesity

MJ Podcast #183: Childhood Obesity 

This week on Mitigation Journal Podcast edition 183

Obesity. Maybe you're tiered of hearing about the growing health problem and the impact on our health care system. Maybe you've heard all you'd like on how diseases like diabetes, cardiovascular failure and stroke are causing our health care system to crumble. And perhaps, you're now wondering what childhood obesity has to do with domestic preparedness and why I'm devoting so much podcast time and blog space to the topic. That answer is short...and in Mitigation Journal Podcast #183 we'll discuss this issue with Dr. Marji Nasin. This interview first appeared on MJ way back in 2007. As we move on to explore this topic, this interview still has meaning...maybe more so...today; some three years later. Simply put, childhood obesity is a National Security/Domestic Preparedness issue. I'm not alone in my thinking on this. This posting on the No Quarter blog pokes at the situation and mainstream media are giving the topic some attention.

As our Nation continues to struggle with these diseases...all linked to childhood obesity...our population becomes more unhealthy at an alarming rate. To the point of emergency management and traditional responders, consider the impact of  childhood obesity on traditional and non-traditional responders;

• Dealing with a sicker, more fragile population increases the risk of communicable disease and impact of biological events such as flu
• A sicker, unstable population is more likely to require additional resources and special needs planning during disaster events
• The ever increasing special needs population will continue to be at increased risk (if) evacuation is needed. Special needs groups may lack the ability to self-evacuate. 
• In the future, a sicker, medically fragile society may lack qualified candidates to fill the role of responders...think about that. Fewer people medically/physically able to do the job of Paramedic or firefighter.