Looking for solutions to Asheville’s obesity problem

Earlier this month, survey company WalletHub marked Asheville as one of the “Fattest Cities” in the country. Asheville ranked No. 43 among the 100 most populated U.S. metro areas for obesity levels, weight-related health problems and environmental factors. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, meanwhile, reports that the South has the second-highest regional rate […]

Obesity is taking North Carolina by storm

Obesity has taken North Carolina by storm. Over one-third of North Carolina youth ages 10-17 are overweight or obese. This ranks North Carolina as 11th highest in the nation for obese youth. When doing an advocacy project with Youth Empowered Solutions, I called a N.C. representative to educate them on the importance of policies that […]

Out of the frying pan

The statistics are hard to ignore. In Buncombe County, 28 percent of kindergartners — and 39 percent of fifth-graders — are overweight. New U.S. Department of Agriculture guidelines released this month propose the first major nutritional overhaul of school lunches in 15 years. Based on recommendations by the nonprofit Institute of Medicine, these guidelines would […]

Student counsel

Ask Christ School senior Addison Honeycutt, and he’ll tell you that healthy eating options abound at the private, all-male Episcopal school, citing the baskets of apples and extensive salad bar in the dining hall. And while most of his classmates live on the Arden campus, Honeycutt, a day student, can compare the meal offerings to […]