Fresh Loaf

U.S. Rep. Phil Gingrey, R-Marietta, appeared on Monday night’s episode of Hardball with Chris Matthews, a popular televised experiment in which a flaxen-haired jester yells questions at political guests. When asked why he thought a growing number of healthcare reform protesters were showing up to the politically charged events wearing firearms, Gingrey basically said, “They’re exercising their rights under the Second Amendment.” Yeah, that’s one way of putting it. (Galloway’s posted a rough transcript.)

(H/T to Talking Points Memo)

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Percentage of Georgia adults who qualify as obese: 28

Percentage of Georgia children age 10-17 who qualify as obese: 37

Georgia’s national rank among the 50 states for adult obesity: 14

Georgia’s national rank among the 50 states for childhood obesity: 3

Number of the top 10 most obese states that are in the South: 8

Percentage of national health care costs associated with chronic disease, much of which can be traced to obesity: 70

Percentage by which a metro Atlantan is less likely to become obese if that person lives in a walkable neighborhood: 7

Extra number pounds of pounds the average person packs on when he or she lives in a pedestrian-unfriendly city: 6

Atlanta’s rank, out of 40, on a recent list of pedestrian-friendly cities: 22

Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Georgia Tech, Heartland Institute, Smart Growth America, Trust for America’s Health, WalkScore.com

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People living on food stamps have been given an incentive to shop at farmers’ markets.

Thanks to a $10,000 grant from the Wholesome Wave Foundation, Atlanta-based nonprofit Georgia Organics has kicked off a Double Value Coupon Program which matches food stamp dollars spent at participating farmers’ markets.

“For a limited time, all food stamp dollars will have double the buying power at three Atlanta farmers markets,” Georgia Organics Executive Director Alice Rolls says. “Food stamp recipients still can choose to spend their food stamp dollars any where that accepts them, but at farmers markets, where local, fresh, and healthy food is sold, one dollar is equal to two dollars.”

Georgia Organics communications director — and former CL staff writer — Michael Wall says the effort is modeled after similar programs in San Diego, Baltimore and the Northeast United States. The program ends when the money runs out, he says, but fundraising could keep it operational.

More information about the program, including the participating farmers’ markets, after the jump.

(more…)

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All this week, the Atlanta Bicycle Campaign encourages residents to leave their cars in the garage, hop on the ole Huffy, and participate in Bike to Work Week.

The nonprofit has banded together with Atlanta Transportation Management Associations, the Clean Air Campaign, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other velocipede advocacy groups and clubs to host cycling-related events and activities.

Tonight you can find a number of deals and discounts at participating bike shops to gear up for the week. Tomorrow you can find a Bike Buddy to help bring you up to speed. On Wednesday, downtown’s Woodruff Park will be the site of Bike Fest, a lunch hour celebration of all things cycling. On Thursday, you can participate in carpool-esque bike trains.

Visit the Atlanta Bicycle Campaign to register for an emailed discount coupon, enter into a prize drawing, and learn more information about this week’s activities. Be sure to also check out the city’s other cycling groups and resources such as Sopo Bicycle Cooperative and Faster Mustache.

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According to a recent study by the American Public Health Association and Partnership for Prevention, Georgia ranks 41st in the nation for health. Vermont, where tree bark is served in schools, is the healthiest state.

[Insert obligatory jokes about Southerners enjoying chocolate-covered bacon and deep-fried Oreos here.]

What’s holding Georgians back from living more healthy lives? Survey says!

• Low high school graduation rate
• High incidence of infectious disease
• High levels of air pollution
• High rate of uninsured population

Other depressing tidbits: The obesity rate has risen from 11 percent of the population in 1990 to 28.7 percent last year. Per capita public health funding decreased 22 percent compared to last year.

Any good news? There’s always good news! And the study has a name for it — “strengths.”

Strengths include a low prevalence of binge drinking at 12.3 percent of the population and high immunization coverage with 80.8 percent of children ages 19 to 35 months receiving complete immunizations.

View Georgia’s Fact Sheet PDF.

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WE FIT: Atlanta’s the sixth-fittest city in the country, according to a report released Thursday.

TAXES TWO-STEP: City Council, worried about approving the mayor’s property-tax increase, may not adopt the budget by the June 30 deadline, a delay the mayor says could affect city services such as public safety and trash pickup.

TRIBAL STUDY: Researchers shoot aerial photos of an Amazonian tribe that hasn’t had contact with the outside world while the tribe aims arrows at their plane. Survival International says the group is one of about 100 uncontacted tribes worldwide.

INTERPOL: Posts red-flag alert online for Columbus, Ga., double murder suspect.

HUSBANDRY: Decatur woman is indicted for allegedly being married to six men simultaneously to help them become U.S. citizens.

BEAR KILLED: The menagerie that is I-75 — where a zebra and a pig were hit by cars in April — suffers another casualty, this time a bear that was hit and killed at I-75 and I-285 in Cobb.

GREASE DE RESISTANCE: Restaurants are beginning to lock up their grease barrels as gas-price-weary thieves have been stealing thousands of dollars worth.

FRAUGHT TRAINS: The nation’s rail network is creaking under the strain of added workload on aging infrastructure.

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The Associated Press reports that U.S. Sens. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., have called for a hearing after a recent investigation by the news agency revealed that minute amounts of prescription medications — even after extensive treatment — were present in drinking water for nearly 41 million Americans, including Atlanta’s.

U.S. Rep. Allyson Schwartz, D-Penn., has asked the Environmental Protection Agency to organize a task force to study the findings and recommend legislation to Congress if necessary.

This comment in the AP report made me scratch my head:

EPA spokesman Timothy Lyons said the agency is “committed to keeping the nation’s water supply clean, safe and the best in the world. We encourage all Americans to be responsible when disposing of prescription drugs.”

I won’t get into the filthy details, Mr. Lyons, but I don’t think the reason we’re seeing little teensy bits of hormones in our tap water is because fed-up men and women are flushing their dosages down the toilet.

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From the New York Times:

The so-called sunshine vitamin is poised to become the nutrient of the decade, if a host of recent findings are to be believed. Vitamin D, an essential nutrient found in a limited number of foods, has long been renowned for its role in creating strong bones, which is why it is added to milk.

Listen up, rickets sufferers. Not only are your bones weak, you’re hopelessly out of fashion as well.

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