The Obesity Epidemic

My comments are in bold :)

U.S. Obesity Epidemic Continues to Spread
By Steven Reinberg THURSDAY, July 7 (HealthDay News) --

A new report outlining how obesity threatens America's future reveals that obesity rates climbed over the past year in 16 states, and not a single state reported a decline in the proportion of excessively overweight residents.

I wonder why

The report, released Thursday, also found that more than 30 percent of the people in 12 states are obese. Four years ago, only one state could make that claim.

Twenty years ago, "there wasn't a single state that had an obesity rate above 15 percent, and now every state is above that," said Jeff Levi, executive director of Trust for America's Health, which compiled the report.

Could this be because of fast food? What about all of the preservatives and additives that they are placing in food? What about the lack of knowledge that people have about what they are putting into their bodies? 20 years ago people probably cooked their food at home instead of eating out. Just things to ponder

"We have seen a dramatic shift over a generation," he added. "This isn't just about how much people weigh, but it has to do with serious health problems like diabetes and hypertension. These are the things that are driving health care costs."

Being obese is costing us not only our lives but financially as well. Air carriers are now charging extra for obese individuals. Healthcare wise insurance companies are too. I for one have to have bloodwork done by the first of august to ensure that I keep my insurance. What are the checking for? Diabetes, cholestrol levels, blood pressure ... you know... the things that come with being overweight :/

With the exception of Michigan, the 10 most obese states are in the South. The Northeast and West reported the lowest obesity rates. In addition, in eight states, more than 10 percent of adults suffer from type 2 diabetes, according to the report.

Why am I not surprised? The South. I live in the South where we love everything fried, smothered and unhealthy. Even our vegetables are unhealthy because they are often slathered in butter, seasoned with a fattening part of the pig and cooked until all of the nutrients are gone. The South ... home of SOUL FOOD! I'm not surprised at all by this.

Mississippi, where 34.4 percent of the people are obese, has the highest obesity rate. Other states with obesity rates above 30 percent include: Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia. Thirty-eight other states have obesity rates above 25 percent.

This is what pisses me off. All of these obesity rates but obese people are discriminated against the most. Its like duhhh America YOU'RE obese! How can you continue to discriminate against obese people? Why are we continuing with this stereotype that Americans are size 2's, 4's and 6's. We're not.

For the second year in a row, obesity rates rose in Illinois, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Missouri, Rhode Island and Texas.

And, for the third year straight, more residents of Florida, Kansas, Maine, Oklahoma and Vermont tipped the scale toward obesity.

Colorado, with an obesity rate of 19.8 percent, is the only state where the rate is less than 20 percent, the investigators found.

Other highlights of the report include:

** The number of adults who do not exercise rose across 14 states.

Why am I not surprised? We have become a generation of lazy people. Instead of exercising adults now turn to weight loss pills, surgery or other fad diets.

**Obesity among men is up in nine states, but dropped for women in Nevada.

Women have more pressure to be thin

**Obesity prevalence varies with education and income. The least educated and the poorest had the highest rates of obesity; college graduates had the lowest.

I'm not surprised by this either. It always baffles me when I go grocery shopping around the first of the month and the people with food stamps are there. Some people receive $400-$900 a month in food stamps. You would think they would have healthy choices but I often find these people with carts and carts and carts full of JUNK! Every type of cake, soda, chip, snacks imaginable. Rarely are there fresh fruits and vegetables. I always leave the store baffled.

**More than one-third of children and adolescents are obese or overweight, with the highest prevalence in the South. However, the new data indicate that obesity among children and adolescents may have leveled off, except among the heaviest boys.

Not surprised. The new generation is one of video games. Also with all of the stuff happening in the world with pedophiles, etc its risky to allow your child to go outside and play unless you are right there with him/her. I put my own kid in sports just so he could interact with kids and get exercise.


"This generation of kids could have shorter life spans, because people are getting diabetes and hypertension much earlier," Levi said.

The solution is simple, he added: Eat less, exercise more. "We have reconstructed our lives so that we don't build in physical activity. We have neighborhoods and communities that are food deserts, where the only food you can find is unhealthy fast food," he said.

Samantha Heller, a dietitian in Fairfield, Conn., called childhood obesity "a complex, multi-faceted problem that needs to be tackled from many different angles." She said she wished the report offered ways to educate parents and caregivers about healthy eating for children.

When people find out WHAT they are eating, some change. I've found while doing this journey that many simply do not want to know. Ignorance is bliss

Parents and caregivers make approximately 75 percent of the food decisions for children, Heller said, so it is essential that they learn about healthy, affordable foods and meals for children that make sense to them.

Therein lies the problem. Fast food is affordable but it damn sure is not healthy. Healthy food is healthy but it damn sure is not affordable.


"Overall, I am hopeful that the report will help motivate food companies, local and state governments, schools and communities to generate a good head of steam to help stem the tide of childhood obesity," she added.

Obesity expert Dr. David L. Katz, director of the Prevention Research Center at Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Conn., called the report "a reminder that obesity ranks among the most urgent public health problems of our time. While efforts to reverse obesity trends are proliferating, the tide has not yet turned, and more needs to be done."

The report makes it clear that interventions need to be tailored to diverse settings, Katz added. "I support the view that the root cause of epidemic obesity is everything about modern living, and that it will take the aggregation of a lot of effective programming to change our course," he said.

Levi noted that the federal government was introducing programs to stem the obesity crisis, but "we need to fund these programs adequately," he said.

"We now know the pieces that need to be put into place [to reduce obesity]," he added. "Some of them are about what we as individuals do, but a lot of it is also about what we as a community come together to do," Levi stated.


The list below, from the Report F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America's Future, shows the percentage of obese adults in all 50 states:


Mississippi 34.4
Maine 26.5
Alabama 32.3
Washington 26.4
West Virginia 32.2
Florida 26.1
Tennessee 31.9
Alaska 25.9
Louisiana 31.6
Virginia 25.9
Kentucky 31.5
Idaho 25.7
Oklahoma 31.4
New Hampshire 25.6
South Carolina 30.9
New Mexico 25.6
Arkansas 30.6
Arizona 25.4
Michigan 30.5
Oregon 25.4
Missouri 30.3
Wyoming 25.4
Texas 30.1
Minnesota 25.3
Ohio 29.6
Nevada 25.0
North Carolina 29.4
California 24.8
Indiana 29.1
New York 24.7
Kansas 29.0
Rhode Island 24.3
Georgia 28.7
New Jersey 24.1
South Dakota 28.7
Montana 23.8
Pennsylvania 28.5
Vermont 23.5
Iowa 28.1
Utah 23.4
Delaware 28.0
Hawaii 23.1
North Dakota 28.0
Massachusetts 22.3
Illinois 27.7
Connecticut 21.8
Nebraska 27.6
District of Columbia 21.7
Wisconsin 27.4
Colorado 19.8