Weight loss and the United States

Yesterday I was reading an internet story about the controversy about the President's choice for Surgeon General. The issue is that she apparently is obese, and with the nation's largest health concern being obesity, what message is this sending to the American public?

First, my thought on this is that if this person is the most qualified person to address all of the nation's health issues, then it makes no difference what weight/height/skin color etc she is.

Second, perhaps a great move on her part is to openly address this issue by publicly talking about her difficulties with weight control, empathizing with the 65% of Americans who are overweight, and commit herself to a weight loss strategy to become a role model for the millions of Americans whose health is at risk from their weight problems.

The Swine flu makes the headlines yet deaths associated with this pale, and I mean really pale, in numbers compared to the amount of death daily that occurs from heart attacks, strokes, diabetic complications, breast cancer, colon cancer, etc...Weight problems kill many Americans and the country must become involved more actively in reversing this epidemic. Perhaps our new Surgeon General will lead the charge in making some inroads into this major health epidemic.