News
Report: What are the fattest states?
Mississippi tops the list, literally, in a ranking that no one wants to win — the fattest state in the country. A new study shows that Mississippi has the nation’s highest adult obesity rate, with Colorado the lowest, according to The Associated Press (AP).
In Mississippi, 34.9 percent of adults classify as obese based on height and weight. In Colorado, 20.7 percent of adults are obese.
The study comes from the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Researchers reviewed data released this week by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Mississippi is among 12 states where at least 30 percent of adults are obese. The other states among the five with the highest obesity rates are Louisiana, 33.4 percent; West Virginia, 32.4 percent; Alabama, 32 percent; and Michigan, 31.3 percent.
Colorado led the list of slimmer states. It was followed among the five states with the lowest obesity rates by Hawaii, 21.8 percent; Massachusetts, 22.7 percent; New Jersey (and the District of Columbia), tied at 23.7 percent; and California, 23.8 percent.
“Obesity has contributed to a stunning rise in chronic disease rates and health care costs,” Jeffrey Levi, executive director at the Trust America’s Health, said in a news release. “The good news is that we have a growing body of evidence and approaches that we know can help reduce obesity, improve nutrition and increase physical activity based on making healthier choices easier for Americans. The bad news is we’re not investing anywhere near what we need to in order to bend the obesity curve.”
Let’s just choose an
Let’s just choose an enlightened benign dictator and have him/her lobotomize everyone because we can’t be trusted to eat right, drink right, exercise right, sign the right mortgage, buy the right car, hold the right opinion, etc, etc, etc. Then we will all do what’s right and in our own best interest and society’s best interest and we’ll have Shangri-La.
This is a serious problem.
This is a serious problem. What is your solution?
cut the fast food addition ,
cut the fast food addition , it loaded with harmful chemicals disguised as safe for humans –but it is not
The idea that there’s a
The idea that there’s a “problem” in the sense that we all have a stake in each others lives (own each other) and need to “solve” it is the first mistake. We all go apoplectic searching for how to fix things. It’s NICE to think we all can take care of each other, but it doesn’t work. Taking responsibility from people only shackles them to the responsible people and pulls everyone down. We’re NOT all in this together. If we try, we’re all going to fall. Why punish the responsible? We’re creating incentives for everyone to give up and become dependent. There’s no incentive to take resopnsibility for yourself. We will all be unthinking animals soon. I for one don’t want to depend on someone else for everything, which they can then take away when there isn’t any money left to confiscate from the “last one standing”. Especially when they have much different values than I have.
It’s like raising kids – being a helicopter parent delays their growing up and they live in your basement until they’re 40. The sooner they learn to take care of themselves the less damage they do to you, themselves and others.
The bottom line is REALITY. We’d like to get away from it, but we can’t. Plenty of countries have tried and failed. It doesn’t work. When will we learn?
If you are obese, the
If you are obese, the solution already lies in your own hands. It did before you got obese. Others did not cause the problem, therefore they are not responsible to solve it. Take charge of your own life, you’ll be glad you did. There’s pride and self respect to be gained.
I’m more than willing to help those in genuine need. I’m not willing to enable people or do for them what they can do for themselves.
Obviously we should pass
Obviously we should pass obesity laws and fine people who are overweight. If pulled over, have your height and weight checked by the officer and pay a fine based upon the BMI. Take the fines and create a government administered office of obesity information and outreach.
That’ll do it. Presto…both Obesity and unemployment solved.
An enlightened benign
An enlightened benign dictator is an oxymoron. As a nation we need to focus on three of the most serious causes of obesity in America: stress, the high cost of quality foods and lack of access to quality health care for the vast majority of Americans.
Is it any wonder that
Is it any wonder that Mississippi is also the poorest state in the union? Put two and two together. Access to education, good paying jobs and healthy, reasonably priced food alternatives would likely go a long way toward mitigating the problem. And while we’re at it, let’s stop blaming people. Your vice might not be as visible as obesity, but trust me, we all have them.
How about a return to
How about a return to morality? Oh, that’s right we simply no longer can legislate it – we never could, but right and wrong still
exists. They (the disembodied ‘they’, i.e. policymakers that no one put in power) determined social conditions within certain targeted groups as needing overhauled whereas other groups are encouraged to exercise (pardon the pun) their hedonistic desires at all costs. It’s almost as if some social experimentation is going on and we’re all being subjected to it.
This issue is important.
This issue is important. Change is difficult, even if it means life or death. As a nation, we need to look toward our future and institute education in nutrition and the biology of the human species as a first essential step in reteaching Americans how to take care of our one and only body. If the kids start understanding where the changes need to be made in their own households, most parents will follow suit. An educated decision to make change will be more likely to last!
I think we’re all pretty well
I think we’re all pretty well informed on what’s healthy and what’s not. What is this, the stone age? If people don’t know getting to 500 lbs isn’t healthy, we can only blame the system that educated them.
“We” are not investing
“We” are not investing anywhere near what we need to in order to bend the obesity curve? What’s to invest? Eat less. Eat healthy food, Exercise. No investment required on the part of already “broke” taxpayers. Insurance companies can levy a “fatter” premium based upon increased health risk, and then reward slimming down with a lower premium. Government can keep their BIG NOSES and FAT BUTTS OUT of individual’s business.
Amen. At some point the
Amen. At some point the government will be unable to wipe everyone’s butt and the laws of nature will kick in. When we as a society decide to re-institute the concept of personal responsibility, the obese will slim down or die, removing their defective genetic material from the gene pool. Hard times are coming for those who have chosen to become dependent on government. The house of cards is trembling. Some will adapt, some will perish, hopefully our nation will not be one of the casualties.
One solution would be give
One solution would be give persons a financial incentive to live a healthier lifestyle i.e. just like automobile insurance rates are lower for safe drivers, give lower insurance rates to healthy persons, and higher rates to those who choose to smoke or are obsese. Some companies are already offering lower insurance rates to their employees who have healthy habits.
Sounds good, but I can’t get
Sounds good, but I can’t get over where we’ve come. How did we get here? What logic are we using? It’s nice to have financial incentives to be healthy, but aren’t there already HEALTH incentives to be healthy?! 🙂 If those incentives don’t work, what will?
Hello Guys Im new in here!
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Hello Guys Im new in here!
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Thanks!