This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 35.7 percent of Americans are obese. Heart disease, not firearms, is the number one killer in the United States today.
In 2010, there were 2,468,435 deaths in the United States: 597,689 were related to heart disease; 11,078 were firearm-related homicides (not self-inflicted).
It's not every day you see a homicide with an assault rifle, but it's impossible to go a day without seeing an obese person. Too many resources have been spent on the recent firearm debates and not enough have been spent on treadmills.
The time has come for America to stand up to its real sickness. It's time to ban McDonald's, not how many bullets you can fit into one clip. Shape up, America.
Cody James
Salt Lake City