Put PE back in Oregon schools

We Oregonians need to take off our baggy sweat suits and take a good look at ourselves in the mirror.

We’re not just pleasantly plump. We’re the chubbiest state west of the Rockies, with an adult obesity rate of 22 percent.

Worse, a fast-growing percentage of our school-age children — nearly 25 percent in the most recent study — are obese or close to it. This trend must be reversed, and Oregon Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem, has introduced sensible legislation that would help by restoring physical education in public schools.

 – Excerpt from The Oregonian Editorial, February 24, 2007