Is it me or are we getting mixed messages from the State of Indiana?

Obesity among Hoosiers is a big problem. The Center for Disease Control typically lists Indiana among the top tier of states whose citizens are considered obese. Studies have found that about one in four Hoosiers is in that category. The legislature has even tackled the problem with laws regulating vending machines in schools and mandating exercise for students.

So, it seemed odd this week when the Indiana State Fair opened its third annual signature food contest.

This year’s entries had to fit the 2008 fair’s theme, “Year of Indiana Trees.” To choose the winner, a blue ribbon tasting panel met earlier this month at the Indiana State Fairgrounds to sample the food vendors’ wares.

The panel’s favorite? Deep-Fried Bananas Foster Cheesecake On A Stick. (Cubes of frozen banana cheesecake on a stick were coated in sweet crumbs, then deep-fried and served with vanilla ice cream.)

Close behind were treats such as Maple Twists On A Stick (cinnamon-flavored yeast dough deep-fried and glazed with maple cream and sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar) and Deep-Fried Maple Latte (coffee-flavored batter deep-fried until crisp, then topped with maple cream, whipped cream, dark chocolate and espresso beans)

There are a couple of healthy barbecue dishes on there as well. However, my code of ethics does not allow me to speak ill of anything with barbecue sauce.

And it’s also confusing that one of the panelists was Cheri Daniels, wife of our extremely fit governor (who appoints the Fair Board.) You can go over to NIFS on the IUPUI campus almost any weekday and see Mitch vigorously working out. But his spouse is on a panel that’s choosing sinfully caloric desserts?

The panel was assembled with other food tasters: WFMS radio’s J.D.Cannon, 2008 Fair Queen Kristen Smith, Shannon Coleman of IndyMoms.com and my old friend Judge Smith of Judge’s Bar-B-Que. There should be no contest involving barbecue without having him passing Judgement (pun intended.)

Every year, all the media, 6News included, gets suckered into covering the foods at the Indiana State Fair. Deep Fried Twinkies, Deep Fried Snickers Bars,. And this August our anchors and reporters will eat them on camera and go on about how this year’s Deep Fried Whatever is even more decadent than last year’s Deep Fried Whatchamacallit. It’s the focus of the Indiana State Fair. Not animals, not crafts, not midway rides.  It’s Deep Fried Foods.

But, it does seem oddly out of sync with the other messages we’re hearing from the state about the health of Hoosiers, our obesity ranking and the toll it takes on our health and our economy