Mary Colborn’s Sept. 18 column, “Together we can make Port Orchard a healthier place,” missed an obvious cause of our national — and local — health and weight problems, and that is diet.

A more specifically, our passion for the fast-food joints that are ubiquitous in Port Orchard.

The thought that McDonald’s and the other fast-food joints actually serve “food” is a marketing deception.

Until we stop eating junk (as Pollan says, “You can’t get real food in a box”) food and fast food, we will continue to get, and stay, a sick nation, no matter how many “Fit City Challenges” we dream up so that we can ignore the core problem.

Our primary food intake should be fresh and pesticide-free fruit and vegetables. Organic as much as possible.

TIMOTHY S. PETSCH

Manchester