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Title: America's Fattest States: Mississippi Still Tops List, But Alabama Closes In
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URL Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/ ... fattest-states-m_n_223699.html
Published: Jul 2, 2009
Author: Lauren Neergaard
Post Date: 2009-07-02 11:56:51 by christine
Keywords: None
Views: 206
Comments: 19
WASHINGTON — Mississippi's still king of cellulite, but an ominous tide is rolling toward the Medicare doctors in neighboring Alabama: obese baby boomers. It's time for the nation's annual obesity rankings and, outside of fairly lean Colorado, there's little good news. In 31 states, more than one in four adults are obese, says a new report from the Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. And obesity rates among adults rose in 23 states over the past year, and no state experienced a significant decline. "The obesity epidemic clearly goes beyond being an individual problem," said Jeff Levi, executive director of the Trust, a nonprofit public health group. It's a national crisis that "calls for a national strategy to combat obesity," added Robert Wood Johnson vice president Dr. James Marks. "The crest of the wave of obesity is still to crash." While the nation has long been bracing for a surge in Medicare as the boomers start turning 65, the new report makes clear that fat, not just age, will fuel much of those bills. In every state, the rate of obesity is higher among 55- to 64-year-olds _ the oldest boomers _ than among today's 65-and-beyond. The report provides one of the first in-depth looks at obese boomers, and its implications are sobering. This first wave of aging boomers will mean a jump of obese Medicare patients that ranges from 5.2 percent in New York to a high of 16.3 percent in Alabama, the report concluded. In Alabama, nearly 39 percent of the oldest boomers are obese. Health economists once made the harsh financial calculation that the obese would save money by dying sooner. But more recent research instead suggests that better treatments are keeping them alive nearly as long _ but they're much sicker for longer, requiring such costly interventions as knee replacements and diabetes care and dialysis. Medicare spends anywhere from $1,400 to $6,000 more annually on health care for an obese senior than for the non-obese, Levi said. There isn't a magic bullet. We don't have a pill for it," said Levi. "It's not going to be solved in the doctor's office but in the community, where we change norms." His group is pushing for health reform legislation to include community-level programs that help people make healthier choices _ like building sidewalks so people can walk their neighborhoods instead of drive, and providing healthier school lunches to help fight the childhood obesity that turns into adult obesity. The pending House and Senate bills address obesity in different ways; one provision would particularly target baby boomers. Many states have begun programs to try to tackle obesity, and there are hints of improvements, Marks said. "We're still getting fatter, but maybe a little more slowly than before," he said: Last year's report found obesity rates rising in 37 states compared with 23 this time around. He's encouraged that 19 states have implemented nutritional standards for school meals that are stricter than the federal government's; in 2004, just four states did. Some are requiring nutritional information for restaurant food, he added. States "recognize the solutions will lie outside traditional medical care," Marks said. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has long said that nearly a third of Americans are obese. The Trust report uses somewhat more conservative CDC surveys for a closer state-by-state look. Among the findings: _Mississippi had the highest rate of adult obesity, 32.5 percent, for the fifth year in a row. _Three additional states now have adult obesity rates above 30 percent, including Alabama, 31.2 percent; West Virginia, 31.1 percent; and Tennessee, 30.2 percent. _In 1991, no state had more than a 20 percent obesity rate. Today, the only state that doesn't is Colorado, at 18.9 percent. _The South is the fattest region. The Northeast and West are slightly slimmer than the rest of the country. _Mississippi also had the highest rate of overweight and obese children, at 44.4 percent in total. It's followed by Arkansas, 37.5 percent; and Georgia, 37.3 percent. _Following Alabama, Michigan ranks No. 2 with fat boomers; 36 percent of its 55- to 64-year-olds are obese. Colorado has the lowest rate, 21.8 percent.
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#1. To: christine (#0)
I lived there for about 18 months back in the 90s. I declare BS on this. 1/3 of them were decidedly not obese. Unless they suddenly started going on KFC eating binges there is something wrong with this. Any MS residents out there? Am I right or am I wrong? .
Click for Privacy and Preparedness files
i had heard before that Texas was #1 for obesity.
The smooth criminal transition from Bush/Cheney to Obama
Ah yes, let's make a law. That'll help for sure! . . . . . Not!
What exactly does this sound like to you? They are going to make the choice for us.
If memory serves, I believe that what you heard was that San Antonio was the fattest city in Texas.
And now Gastric-Bypass surgery is a covered procedure under Medicare. Yippee we all get to pay for the fat f*cks, welcome to America, we're No. 1 !!
Thanks to air conditioning, people sit around in the summer getting fat watching 'The View' whilst munching on junk food and slamming cokes by the case. Take away A/C, and people will slim down....
_________________________________________________________________________ Come to CenTex for a summer outdoors and I will guarantee you a serious fat melt-down.
Our northern friends on 4um don't know how good they have it when they cry about it getting in the mid-90's. I routinely use a push-mower when it hits 100+ every summer, and I play 18 holes in it too. Hey, it's cheaper than going to a gym....
_________________________________________________________________________ How much do you charge for custom lawn-care? ;-)
Right now it's 102, and they're calling for 103 through next Tuesday. Smokin' down here.
I do two yards as it is.....a case of Shiner Blonde would figure in my price at some point ;-)
_________________________________________________________________________
I'm pretty sure that's part of Oboingo's Carbon Tax/Healthcare Tax program. Wait 'til He introduces His Kenyan Diet Plan on us this Fall. If'n you ain't a billionaire, you're gonna slim down.
My guess is that girl #2 is girl #1, but with her warpaint on. In real life, I'd take the first woman. SHe is not ugly, just shy. God only knows how diseased girl #2 is. Whenever I see a woman like that, I wonder how many times she has done that before. Moot point now. I'm sick of women, period.
Click for Privacy and Preparedness files
of course
The smooth criminal transition from Bush/Cheney to Obama
Same here. It got up to a blistering 68 yesterday. Damn Global Warming.
Double damn. That really sucks for the row crops there.
Stop feeding farm animals growth hormones and people will be less fat.
_Mississippi had the highest rate of adult obesity, 32.5 percent, for the fifth year in a row.
#2. To: PSUSA (#1)
#3. To: christine (#0)
It's a national crisis that "calls for a national strategy to combat obesity,"
"The hour is fast approaching, on which the Honor and Success of this army, and the safety of our bleeding Country depend. Remember officers and Soldiers, that you are Freemen, fighting for the blessings of Liberty - that slavery will be your portion, and that of your posterity, if you do not acquit yourselves like men."
--George Washington, General Orders, August 23, 1776
#4. To: christine (#0)
His group is pushing for health reform legislation to include community-level programs that help people make healthier choices
"The hour is fast approaching, on which the Honor and Success of this army, and the safety of our bleeding Country depend. Remember officers and Soldiers, that you are Freemen, fighting for the blessings of Liberty - that slavery will be your portion, and that of your posterity, if you do not acquit yourselves like men."
--George Washington, General Orders, August 23, 1776
#5. To: christine (#2)
#6. To: christine (#0)
In 1991, no state had more than a 20 percent obesity rate. Today, the only state that doesn't is Colorado, at 18.9 percent
#7. To: christine (#0)
"This man is Jesus,” shouted one man, spilling his Guinness as Barack Obama began his inaugural address. “When will he come to Kenya to save us?”
-Schweizerische Schuetzenzeitung (Swiss Shooting Federation) April, 1941
#8. To: X-15 (#7)
#9. To: lodwick, christine (#8)
"This man is Jesus,” shouted one man, spilling his Guinness as Barack Obama began his inaugural address. “When will he come to Kenya to save us?”
-Schweizerische Schuetzenzeitung (Swiss Shooting Federation) April, 1941
#10. To: X-15 (#9)
#11. To: All (#10)
#12. To: lodwick (#10)
"This man is Jesus,” shouted one man, spilling his Guinness as Barack Obama began his inaugural address. “When will he come to Kenya to save us?”
-Schweizerische Schuetzenzeitung (Swiss Shooting Federation) April, 1941
#13. To: X-15. all who've been there (#12)
#14. To: X-15 (#7)
Take away A/C, and people will slim down...
Mike Flaherty: Yeah, it's been there a long time. I wish I knew which corner.
My Man Godfrey (1936)
#15. To: lodwick (#13)
#16. To: farmfriend (#4)
What exactly does this sound like to you? They are going to make the choice for us.
#17. To: lodwick (#11)
Smokin' down here.
Mike Flaherty: Yeah, it's been there a long time. I wish I knew which corner.
My Man Godfrey (1936)
#18. To: Esso (#17)
#19. To: christine (#0)
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