The fight against fat escalated Thursday when the King County Board of Health voted to ban trans fats in restaurants and require chain eateries to list nutritional information on their menus. Good as its intentions are, the board’s authoritarian approach is one Snohomish County should try to avoid.

Let us be clear: Our society’s rapid decline in overall fitness is a serious problem. Alarming increases in obesity are fueling higher rates of heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and other health problems. If we don’t begin exercising more and eating smarter in large numbers, everyone will pay the price in the form of higher health-care costs. Treatment of chronic diseases is expensive, as is the end-of-life care they tend to require. And a recent report confirmed that Snohomish County adults are following the national trend – nearly a quarter of them are obese.

To avert a crisis, people need to change their behavior. The question for government is whether to push or persuade. We favor the latter.

So does Dr. Gary Goldbaum, health officer for the Snohomish Health District. He thinks a “community-up” approach will be more effective here, showing that he’s learned a lot about Snohomish County since arriving here from King County’s health department not quite six months ago.

Goldbaum envisions extending the Healthy Communities Project Initiative that’s taking off in Marysville to other parts of the county, using community-based action plans to put folks on the road to better health. He also favors building on the positive relationship the health district has built with restaurants, working with them to develop voluntary ways to help customers make informed menu choices. If solutions are found that make a positive difference and are workable for restaurateurs, then they could be applied across the county to ensure economic fairness.

Restaurant owners would be wise to grasp Goldbaum’s extended hand before pressure builds here for mandated solutions. Customers deserve to know how various menu items differ in calories, fat, carbohydrates and sodium, and it’s not too much to expect restaurants to provide that information. Smart owners will work with the health district to find effective ways to do so that aren’t unnecessarily burdensome or expensive, and help develop a timeline for getting rid of harmful trans fats.

If they don’t, trends suggest they’ll be pushed to change. The smart move is start now, while they can still influence the outcome.