Mississippi is a big word, and so are its people

William Atkins
Wednesday, 29 August 2007 03:20

Science - Health

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that Mississippi has, on average, the fattest adults in the United States, and Colorado has the leanest—although all states have been increasing their obesity levels over the first seven years of the decade.          

The states with the biggest adults are (in order of largeness): Mississippi, West Virginia, Alabama, Louisiana, South Carolina and Tennessee (tied for 5th and 6th), Kentucky, Arkansas, Indiana and Michigan (tied for 9th and 10th).

The states with the leanest people are (in order of smallness): Colorado, Massachusetts, Vermont, Hawaii, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Montana, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico.

The top lean state Colorado only had 17.5% of its people labeled as obese.

The CDC report was prepared by the Trust for America’s Health, a nonprofit group primarily performing research on disease prevention and health promotion.

Their fourth annual report is called “F as in Fat: how Obesity Policies are failing in America, 2007”.

An earlier CDC study in July 2007 confirmed the results of the Trust for America’s Health study.

A new record was set in the United States in 2007 as Mississippi became the first state ever to have over 30% of its adult residents classified as obese. In all, 47 states have over 20% of their citizens denoted as obese.

No state showed a decline in obesity levels. Thirty-one states showed increases in obesity levels. Based on figures from the CDC, just back in 1992—fifteen years ago—all fifty states in the United States showed less than 15% of its state’s population was obese.

The 2007 report also looked at children, which was the first time it had done so. The report announced that the children of the District of Columbia had 22.8% of its children as being classified as overweight—the largest percentage—while Utah only had 8.5% of overweight children--the lowest percentage.

A body mass index (BMI) rates obesity, overweight, and normal weights of people. A BMI of over 30 is considered obese. The index is a ratio that takes into account height and weight. The overweight range is 25 to 29.9, while normal is 18.5 to 24.9.

To check your BMI number, go to: http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/.

According to numerous scientific studies in the United States and in countries around the world, people generally become obese because of a diet lacking in proper nutrition (fast foods and highly processed foods are notorious for not providing a balanced amount of nutrients) and a lack of physical activity (even as simple as walking twenty minutes for three times a week).

According to a plethora of medical studies, obese people are also at greater risk of getting serious diseases such as heart disease, stroke, arthritis, respiratory problems, depression and other psychological problems, and diabetes.

Obese people, generally, live shorter lives than lean people.

According to the July 2007 report by the CDC: “… during the past 20 years there has been a dramatic increase in obesity in the United States.”

A summary of the report (“F as in Fat: how Obesity Policies are failing in America, 2007”) by the Trust for America’s Health is found at: http://healthyamericans.org/newsroom/releases/release082707.pdf.

Within the summary is this statement: “There has been a breakthrough in terms of drawing attention to the obesity epidemic. Now, we need a breakthrough in terms of policies and results. Poor nutrition and physical inactivity are robbing America of our health and productivity.”