In spite of the fact that we as nation are becoming older, fatter and there are more of us, we dare passing on to our great reward at a much slower pace than the government thinks we should.
Talk to an insurance guy sometime about mortality. He or she will whip out the little tables, ask you some questions about your lifestyle and family history and voilia, within a few moments you will have a prediction on your date of death.
But it might give you a little comfort to find out that even with all those super computers and what not the big national center for health statistics is scratching their heads over a decline in death. And it’s not a little number. It seems that the annual number of deaths has dropped by 2 percent which translates out to 50,000 fewer funerals to go to.
The good news here, if the numbers are actually true, is that we as a nation of old farts must finally be getting it. Getting the fact that we can’t stuff ourselves with fast food, smoke like chimneys and drink like fish and expect to get our four score and some promised years.
Heart disease, cancer and stroke are on the decline according to this report and that’s all good news.
The bad news is of course the next generation. With the powerful lure of dollar menus at fast food joints across this great land of ours the younger folks are almost forced to eat crap because the good stuff costs too much.
A bag of salad at the Grocery store costs 2.50 on sale. With that same amount of dough you could have a hamburger fries and a calorie laden soda at the drive thru. It’s not even on the radar screen for most of todays’ devasted youth, never mind that it just plan tastes better.
There is movie coming out soon based on the book Fast Food nation. If we were really serious about helping the youth of our great nation understand the consequences of a life of burgers and fries we would make it mandatory viewing and show it on screens in the fast food joints.
And that has about as much chance happening as a dark planet crashing into the sun right now!
