By Sally Lehrman | June 7th, 2012 It’s been a fun couple of
weeks for health news, with New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg
rationing soda portions and the Disney Co. calling a halt to
junk food advertising for kids. You can do more with this story,
though, than just trot out arguments for and against. Bloomberg
and Disney aim to block structural incentives to eat sugary,
salty foods – and through their policy efforts, trim obesity,
diabetes and heart disease. Their specific approaches certainly
are open to debate. But public health departments across the
country have been pleading for some type of policy-based,
structural change. Their priority: Halt the disproportionate
impact of dire health conditions on specific population groups.
Take a close look at the obesity statistics. African Americans
and Mexican Americans have the highest rates across the country.
And while we tend to associate obesity with low incomes, that’s
not true here – at least for men. Nationally, African American
and Mexican American men wi