Pursuing happiness on Delaware’s trails
Delaware leads the nation in the percentage of farmland in preservation programs. That bodes well for the state’s agricultural industry; our access to quality, fresh food; ample habitat for wildlife; and the sense of well-being that comes from a balanced mixture of developed land and open space.
If Gov. Jack Markell maintains the aggressive pace he has set for developing hiking and biking trails to link Delaware’s communities, we can add that important category to agland preservation as two areas where our state leads the nation.
In the budget for the current fiscal year, the Markell administration appropriated $7.5 million for his historic community-linking trail initiative. He charged Delaware’s departments of transportation and natural resources with establishing an unprecedented trails network to make getting outdoors and being active easier for all of us. For the next budget cycle, starting in July, he has proposed adding another $13 million to that initiative. He’s serious, and we should all be saying hallelujah.
The initiative is coming none too soon. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported recently that the nation’s obesity epidemic, with a direct link to inactivity, continues to rage. A study conducted across 2009 and 2010 found that more than 78 million adults and almost 13 million children ages 2 to 19 in our country are officially obese. A full one-third of adults are overweight as are 15 percent of our children.
The study shows those numbers have leveled off, but at an unhealthy rate that experts say will translate into dramatic increases in diabetes - which becomes more prevalent with age - and associated healthcare costs. Delaware’s population is right in line with this unfortunate trend, and the state’s share of Medicaid costs is consequently skyrocketing.
Given that Delaware was the first state to ratify our nation’s Constitution, with pursuit of happiness as a fundamental principle, it’s only right that we should lead the nation in a fitness initiative that will ultimately save us tons of money in terms of declining healthcare costs, and allow us to be happier people.
