Forgive me if I weigh in on a sensitive subject that recently put Huntington into the national spotlight: obesity. My onetime employer, The Associated Press, punched data into a computer recently and came up with two urban areas as the healthiest in the country and the unhealthiest.

Burlington, Vt., won out as the healthiest. Unhappily, the area that logged in at dead last was none other than dear old Huntington. The study was based primarily on obesity and diabetes statistics from state health departments, made available through the Centers for Disease Control.

It was painful talking to a friend from Dallas. I'd called him about publishing matters, but he quickly brought up the AP analysis. "I see Huntington has made the news," my friend said. I responded defensively, "Well, yes, the 'area' but not necessarily just residents in Huntington proper." So there I went "dissing" the rural dwellers.

Why were obesity and diabetes the overriding factors in the study? After all, for smog the Los Angeles area has got to be much worse. Yes, we have pollutants too, wafting over from the refinery outside Ashland, but, hey, the chemical plants in Charleston put out more and deadlier particles.

For stress, the much faster-paced cities of Boston, New York, etc., have it all over Huntington, where people typically can commute to work in 10 to 20 minutes or even walk or bike to work, and where traffic unnerves us only after a Marshall football game or an accident on Interstate 64 or U.S. Route 60.

Crime is plenty unhealthy, too. Although Cabell County has been living through a spike in armed robberies, assaults and even homicides, our crime rate is dwarfed by that of dozens of other urban areas -- Detroit being among the worst.

All that aside, we apparently must own up to being an area that's been losing the battle of the bulge. Mayor David Felinton, who underwent surgery to downsize his own heft, was asked by a TV news reporter why Huntington had a weight problem. "We just don't think about it that much," he told the camera.

Right. And what if we did? Perhaps the change we need is to heighten our consciousness. In effect, we could start by acknowledging that there is indeed a societal problem here, that as a collective we are dangerously overweight, and that obesity is a disease and therefore a threat to our health and lifespan.

The National Football League reports during commercial breaks of its games that one in three American children is at risk of obesity. In our area it may be somewhat worse than that.

As you might expect from a publisher, I'm going to recommend a couple of books. One is "The Dog Diet" by Patti Lawson, $16.95, a work that emerged from a Charleston Life Writing Class that I conducted. The other is "Suicide by Sugar" by Nancy Appleton and G.N. Jacobs, Square One, $16.95, published by a friend and mentor, Rudy Shur. I can also testify that "The South Beach Diet" truly works. Following it faithfully several years ago, I lost 17 pounds in 12 weeks.

I heartily endorse The Herald-Dispatch's suggestion that readers send in stories and tips of how they or people they know shed flab. Let's all work together. We might not become a second Burlington, Vt., but at least we don't have to check in last in the weight game. So please, send in your tips.

John Patrick Grace is a book editor and publisher. He lives in the Huntington area.

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