A two-page brief from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is an excellent resource for learning about how to keep the costs of obesity under control.

Not only does it have some of the key numbers (i.e., $147 billion a year in "extra" healthcare costs arise because of obesity), but it argues for a few policy changes that could begin to cut into the bulge.

For example, the Congressional Budget Office looks at the 10-year implications of policy proposals to assess their likely effectiveness. But if health improvements would be seen beyond that arc, it's as if they never arrive, in terms of legislative thinking.

This is more than whining: Someone assessed as diabetic today might not encounter the worst outcomes of the disease — blindness, amputation — until 12 or 15 years later. Those outcomes are extremely serious and might — I'd hope — move legislators to act against them if possible, but how can they if they're not looking far enough ahead.

Finally, let's all remember: In addition to numbers like $147 billion, what we're talking about is the lives of individuals. If it's you, or a loved one, you probably care a lot more about personal experience than national debt. This is about quality of life for loved ones. God willing, everyone is a loved one to someone.