We’ve read about this kind of thing before but this is an interesting depiction of the statistics:
I thought my state voted republican that year? 
Wow, that’s some compelling stuff. Scary!
Somehow I thought things were looking up… but I was wrong.
20 years is such a short time span to see the fatass trend sweep over such a large country.
Sadly the best any state can muster is 15-19%
Sick
.
Yeah, and that graph just shows those who are obese. Add in all those who are qualify as “overweight” and we’re one hefty country.
mm
Even worse i know.
Well I am proudly crusing around at 163-165 and 6’0 tall so at least I am not adding to the problem in my great state of Indiana which has been on the fat side of the curve all along. But after spendng a lot of time in Tom’s home state of Michigan, I know why it is bright red.
that is HUGE!!!
someone had to say it 
I was once well past “overwieght”(26.5) and could still must a 1:29:00 13.1 in 2 inches of snow. Granted we true stocky types are not general but the overwieght cat is close at 5’10" i only have to be 174 to be in that cat. I once knew a ripped bodybuilder that has trouble with his insurance bc he was “obese”. Just a note
Obesity, especially childhood obesity is going to be what smoking was to the health care system. The health costs associated with obesity are enormous (excuse the pun). This is a very serious problem. When I went to high school in the late 60’s maybe 3-4% of the student body was obese. Now it’s 30-40%.
Perhaps even worse, I have seen information that for the first time in history the current generation of children has a shorter life expectancy than we do.
That’s a pretty telling picture. I thought 1995 was pretty interesting because it looks very close to the United States of Jesusland picture after the 2004 election.
Good post.
Thanks:
- High fructose corn syrup.
- Partially hydrogenated oil(s)
- Fried foods
- Lack of exercise
- and , and ,and , and…
Having lived off the continent for the past 20 years , I have really noticed something in the states ,besides how fat , damn near EVERYBODY appears to be.
Everything is “americanised”. It is more difficult to buy cheese than it is VELVEETA , for example. The same goes for juice. It is really difficult to get “clean” foods per se. Canada is not far behind.
I looked through my mom’s cabinets a couple of years ago when visiting to make something or other. I ended up analysing the ingredients on loads of stuff. Even the items that are labled fat-free , diet, etc. are full of HFCS or marginally reduced fat content.
For the average “joe” who has no idea how to read a nutrition label , it does not surprise me that the country is clinically obese.
In a way, I am apprehensive of returning to N.America eventually , as I have no idea where I will shop.
I am presuming hit the circumference and hope for the best
No offence intended btw to all you fit and healthy people here
No doubt, Childhood Obesity might be the fastest rising disease state in our country, and it certainly might be the most serious. We are seeing disorders in children that were considered rare, and worthy of a case report/write-up previously such as Type II diabetes, and HTN, in 9-12 year old kids. It is a serious crisis with significant long term health and cost implications. I would implore ANYONE here on ST, or anyone actively participating in endurance sports to go to elementary schools and junior highs when possible and talk about your sport and passion. Even if you only reach a few, you may ultimately change and shape some lives. I’ve done it twice, and plan to again. It’s so sad. I had to tell a patients family in the ER recently that he was in acute renal failure…the patient was 14. I hated that, and the patient was in renal failure because of prolonged undiagnosed type II diabetes secondary to obesity.
Michael Pollan, the food journalist (“Omnivore’s dilemma”) cites an economist who looked at the organization of foods in supermarkets as a way of determining why poverty correlates strongly with obesity.
Among other findings, the guy determined that junk food (transfats, HFCS, etc.) provides way more calories / dollar than higher-cost foods such as… (wait for it)… carrots, zucchini, fish, non-prepared chicken, etc. Pollan attributes a great deal of this imbalance to the farm bill, which subsidizes cheap wheat/corn/soy and leads to the artificially low pricing of “middle-of-the-supermarket” foods.
(NOTE: the nytimes article may be behind their subscriber firewall.)
ST pop quiz!
What is the #1 operation performed in the US
a) Appendectomy
b) Rhinoplasty (nose job)
c) Cholycystectomy (gall bladder)
d) Gastric bypass
e) Total knee repair
If you answered d, you’re right!
Gastric bypass beat out appendectomy as America’s most common surgery this year
Very, very sad
Jodi
Sorry, but I found the presentation of the statistics much to be desired. I cannot fathom a whole state given one grade, given how diverse some states are. California is as diverse as it gets, and seeing it colored uniformly is just plain weird. The trend toward obesity over the decades was cool to see, but the information content per se was rather pitiful.
… typing this while I munch on a supersized glazed donut. Yeah!
That is a great visual graphic.
Your post coincides with a new study published in the Journal of Epidemiological Reviews by researchers at Johns Hopkins. Basically they state that if the current overweight/obesity trends continue, by the year 2015, about 75% of the population will be overweight and 41% obese. That is alarming, but actually not that far off the current stats.
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSN1841918320070718