While tips such as locking your personal belongings in your car or locker while at class and/or work, never walking alone and staying off your cell phone while walking so you are not distracted, may keep you safe in a personal safety situation, would you know what to do if your school or place of employment fell victim to an attack like those seen last week in Illinois or last April at Virginia Tech?

Being aware of your surroundings is key. We are generaly aware of what our surroundings should look like at any given time. Use your instincts, if something feels wrong it probably is. Make note of it and then take further action, such as reporting suspicious findings to police, hospital security or campus safety. There are almost always “red flags” that are recognized as such too late.

Know the building that you work in or attend class in. Knowing how to get to your floor or classroom and to the restroom or cafeteria is not enough. It is imperative that you know how to escape in case of emergency and you can not do that efficiently (or even at all) if you do not know your building. Make note of all exits, stair wells, and hallways so you could make a quick exit if the need arose.

Hospitals are unique in that they are a place where people can be significantly compromised in health, mental capacity and emotional stability, leading to the greater vulnerability of those who work there. Every workplace (every floor) should have an emergency plan that details procedures for dealing with security issues. The safety plan should include measures for dealing with distraught patients and/or family members, violent co-workers or other potentially volatile situations. Each plan should include a “safe room” for employees to retreat to, information on how to contact hospital security and police as well as a method for alerting other co-workers of impending danger.

Kelly points out that you can have safety, or you can have convenience, but you can never have both. Safety and security take effort and we have to be willing to do our part in keeping ourselves safe.; even if that entails a measure of inconvenience.

Sadly, attacks like those suffered at Northern Illinois University and Virginia Tech are likely to continue. Knowing what you should do in a volatile situation can save your life. Be aware, use common sense and remember that safety is not necessarily convenient; it is however, essential. Learn more about safety on campus at safetyoncampus.org.

While Mr. Mayhall is certain the bill will not pass into law, he along with the bill’s co-writers, Bobby Shows, a businessman and John Read, a pharmacist, believe the situation concerning obesity in Mississippi to be dire. Their intention is to call attention to the increasing epidemic of obesity and the cost to the Medicare system.

Mississippi continually ranks as one of the fattest states in the country by the Center for Disease Control (CDC). The state boasted a 31.4 average BMI rate for the year 2006, garnering them the top spot with Alabama in second at 30.5. Mississippi also holds the highest rate of death from cardiovascular disease; a disease with a major risk factor of obesity. See where your state ranks here.

While a BMI of 30 is considered obese, keep in mind that the index does not take into account skeletal frame, musculature or fitness – all factors in determining your overall health with concern to your weight.

Obesity has ranked among top concerns for health professionals and lawmakers alike over the past ten years. We have reached a staggering milestone, six of every ten adults are considered obese in this country. According to the Surgeon General, in 1999 13% of children aged 6 to 11 years were facing weight issues. Approximately 14% of adolescent’s ages 12 to 19 were overweight that same year – a number nearly tripled over the past two decades. The obesity epidemic is not new.

As health care providers we are seeing drastic increases in diseases and conditions strongly linked to obesity. Diabetes is on a sharp rise, primarily in children. Insulin-dependent diabetes is now being seen in obese children, a disease that was solely found in adults a short time ago. Cardiovascular (CV) disease is the leading cause of death and a leading cause of disability in our country. Obesity ranks as a top cause of CV disease.

Finding a solution to the problem of obesity in America is proving difficult because the etiology is not fully understood and what can change obesity largely depends on an individual’s choices and choices that families are making together. Education of patients and their families regarding positive health habits should be a primary concern for health care providers regardless of alleged prior knowledge or perceived existence of weight issues. Teaching our patients and their families how to better care for their bodies is of utmost importance and of greater value than judgment and ridicule that proposals like Bill 282 risk perpetuating.