Addressing weight problems in NC

A key health issue facing North Carolinians and the nation is the growing problem of obesity and the corresponding cost of treatment. There is an urgent need to develop programs promoting good nutrition, encouraging healthier lifestyles and reduce obesity.

A report on NC's weight problem is featured on the NC Progress Board website.

Please add your ideas and comments on how the a state can work toward solving this problem and what can be done to help citizens have a healthier life.

NC Scorecards

Take a look at newly published North Carolina scorecard reports for various trends in NC as published by the North Carolina Progress Board. Each was carefully researched and reflects current ranking of the state in each category as well as its placing among other southeastern states and the nation. These are intended to show now NC is doing and lead to discussion of what can be done to improve quality of life in each of the areas and keep NC competitive.

Choose one of the eight Imperatives and click on it to view a page of topics related to that Imperative, then click on the link for the associated scorecard (example - Smoking).

Please contact your state representatives and tell them you want publication of these reports to continue and for the state to continue funding the independent research of the NC Progress Board. You might also indicate your thoughts of having the Board consist of only members that do not bring partisan bias to the reports and that none of the members be from specific state organizations or from the Governors office.

Trends worth watching - NC Progress Board

If you are interested in trends related to the quality of life in North Carolina check out the NC Progress Board website. The web portal provides a great deal of information in its Scorecard section about trends in a variety of topics related to life in NC and compares them to the southeast region and the nation.

The NCPB was established under a statute by the NC legislature to monitor trends in the state and publish periodic reports that provide views of how NC is doing as well as provide ideas on what could be done to improve quality of life in the state. The Board also has published Eight Imperatives that outline key topics affecting the state and its economy and issues reports on what is happening in these areas.

The Board was created and funded by the NC legislature to operate in an independent manner presenting a non-partison analysis of how the state is doing but in the fall of 2006 an advisor to the Governor decided to get into the mix and eliminate the funding for the group thus adding the appearance that the Governor's office is trying to both influence the nature of the reports and end the ability to provide a clear and independent view of what is happening around the state. The current work of the Board has all but ended and if the funding is moved to an organization in the UNC system at Chapel Hill the information presented up until now will essentially dissapear from view.

If you feel the content produced by the Progress Board is valuable to citizens and legislators please take a few minutes to convey your thoughts to your state House of Representatives member or state Senator and to those in state government that can influence continuing the funding and existence of the NCPB and expand the analysis and reports it has offered.

It's all up to you !!!