Posted on 06/29/2010 11:38:36 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
TUESDAY, June 29 (HealthDay News) -- Americans are continuing to get fat, with obesity rates nudging upwards in 28 states over the past year, a new report shows.
"More than two-thirds of states now have adult obesity rates above 25 percent," Jeff Levi, executive director of the Trust for America's Health, said during a Tuesday news conference. "Back in 1991, not that long ago, not a single state had an obesity rate above 20 percent. There's been a dramatic change in a relatively short period."
"Obesity is one of the biggest public health crises in the country," Levi added. "Rising rates of obesity over past decades is one of the major factors behind skyrocketing health care costs in the U.S., one-quarter of which are related to obesity."
Mississippi weighed in for the sixth year in a row as the fattest state, with 33.8 percent of its adults obese, while Alabama and Tennessee tied for second (31.6 percent). The other top 10, also concentrated in the south, were West Virginia, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Arkansas, South Carolina and Michigan tying with North Carolina for 10th place (29.4 percent).
Michigan was the only state in the top 11 not in the South, an anomaly perhaps explained by the state's economy.
"Michigan certainly has been very hard hit, not just in the recent recession, but in the last decade or so," Levi explained.
And, as the report also shows, income is a major driver of the obesity epidemic. More than 35 percent of adults bringing in less than $15,000 a year were obese, vs. only 24.5 percent in the over-$50,000 income bracket.
The healthiest states in terms of weight were congregated in the Northeast and West.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
The Michelle Obama Effect 8-?
Stress fat.
I’m sure more than a few here at FR have battled the bulge along the way and still do..
It’s tough to avoid the pitfalls of rapid fire living and fast food.. and Lordy, who said build all those restaurants by the sides of freeways?
But.. We are a mobile society after all.. and subject to all kinds of temptations along the way.
Comfort food will do this to ya’.
This is all part of Mr. Obama’s health care plan: Lose weight or else!
But seriously, folks...I was in eastern MA last week and everywhere I looked I saw fat people. Tall, medium, short - fat people all over.
Boy, Michelle’s really got her work cut out for her. :)
All species bulk up when they know winter’s coming.
If possible, they also wolf down protein & vitamins, lest they start showing signs of various systems failures.
The poor eat poorly. Period. Outstanding, expensive food and private chefs on call are, well, not cheap.
Creates an entirely new perspective on being organ-ic, doesn’t it. Pelosi & Reid are trolling for body parts as we blog.
Whoa! This is series!
Obama's fault.
No where is obesity defined in this article nor does it reveal how these questionable statistics were arrived at. That’s a major red flag.
...and G-d knows we need comfort more than ever right now...
Not to worry, I’m sure they’ve got the obesity hockey stick graph to prove everything. All those out-of-work climate scientists have to do something, you know!
Why lets make a law against obesity and arrest all fat people and subject them to mandatory hard labor. Or would that be a cruel and unusual punishment?
I am stuned.
Is there some correlation to demographics not recognized in this survey? One wonders.
How can all those unemployed people be so fat? I’m fat, self-employed, and unhappy with Obama. What do I win?
I’m glad the other 29 are doing OK...
guess who’s atop the list... Illinois.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.