A killer at large is stalking Americans and killing them at a rate of more than 100,000 a year according to the Center for Disease Control.
The Utah Department of Health this month held a private screening at Jordan Commons of the independent film "Killer at Large," a movie about the epidemic of obesity in United States. The health department invited local leaders involved with PTA, wellness programs, school lunch officials and others to see the movie and briefly explain what they are doing with a $2 million grant from the CDC to fight obesity in Utah over a five-year period.
Filmmaker Steven Greenstreet wants the film to make a difference.
"We wanted this film to be a work of activism," Greenstreet said, activism that he hopes starts with the audience.
"The power lies with you," Greenstreet said.
The film shows various causes of obesity, from emotional eating, eating in response to stress or fear, marketing to children, unavailability of nutritious foods for the poor, government policy as it pertains to farm subsidies and lobbyists, and others.
The film features U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt introducing the cartoon character "Shrek" as the mascot for the agency to get children involved in more physical activity. However, Shrek's likeness is plastered on a plethora of snack food products, which detractors in the film said gave children the idea that "if Shrek is good" the snack foods must be good for them.
In another scene, a 12-year-old girl is getting liposuction. After the surgeon inserted the probe into her back skin, he moved it back and forth causing her to shake and her head to loll to one side in a drug-induced stupor. The surgery was a success, but the girl later gained much of the fat back.
The 103-minute film was the result of months of research.
"We spent eight straight months of research before we even picked up a camera," Greenstreet said.
The health department sponsored the film screening because "it uncovers the complexity and magnitude of the obesity problem in America."
Further, the department in a press release said that obesity is a problem that has "developed over time" and no one agency or individual can solve it alone. It will require a long-term, sustained, and multifaceted approach.
The health department approach has six areas of focus: increase physical activity, eat more fruits and vegetables, decrease consumption of sugar, increased breast-feeding, and a decrease in watching TV.
The film called obesity "the terror within" because it said more people die each year of obesity than terrorism, and quoted former Surgeon General Richard Carmona as saying obesity is the most important health issue in United States today.
For more information on "Killer at Large" go to killeratlarge.com.
E-mail: lwilde@desnews.com