Obesity grows in all American states except Oregon
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| Posted
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Wed, 24 Aug 2005 19:02:00 GMT |
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Anne Roberts |
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According to a consumer health group, obesity rates in the United States went up from 22 per cent in the period between 2001 and 2003 to 24.5 per cent between 2000 and 2002. The group, Trust for America’s Health, studying data from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), found that obesity had gone up in all the 50 state of America with the exception of Oregon, where obesity rate remained steady at 21 per cent.
The highest jump in obesity rate was found in Alabama, which showed an increase of 1.5 per cent to 27.7 per cent. Other states with increasing numbers of overweight people included Mississippi, West Virginia, Louisiana, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio and Tennessee, among others. Connecticut, Colorado, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Montana scored better with lower increase in obesity. Colorado showed the lowest obesity rate with 16.8 per cent.
The report, ‘F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies Are Failing in America, 2005’, said that about one-fourth of adults in over 10 American states were obese, which is defined as have a body mass index of 30 or more.
“We have a crisis of poor nutrition and physical inactivity in the US, and it's time we dealt with it,” said Shelley A Hearne, executive director of Trust for America’s Health.
The authors of the study called for better government policies to reduce obesity in the country. “While it's indisputable that individual behavior — eating less and exercising more — is critical to addressing this problem, the government and private industry also have important roles to play. The bottom line is that there is a lot more that could and should be done,” said Parris N Glendening, one of the authors of the report. He felt that the federal programs aimed at decreasing this health menace were ‘too limited’ and many more programs were required to make a significant change.
The report recommended certain federal and community measures that could help curb the problem. This included free and low-budget diet and exercise programs as well as health food promotions. It also called for better programs in schools to curb childhood obesity, which has hit a national average of 15 per cent in the US.
Analyzing the cost of health ailments arising from obesity, the report said that American taxpayers shelled out about US$ 39 billion in 2003 for treating conditions like cardiac ailments, diabetes and other disorders that have roots in excess weight.
Copyright,
respective author or news agency
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Low Income Linked to Obesity?
By:
Lynnea ,
Fri, 26 Aug 2005 23:14:00 GMT
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I think obesity and lower income tend to go hand in hand. (Though I do believe there are many other causes.) Food is a cheap 'leisure' activity and a very socially acceptable activity. If low-income individuals can afford any kind of entertainment, it is food. There was a woman I knew who barely made it paycheck to paycheck, but as soon as that paycheck came in, she walked the kids down the steet to McDonalds. Great family values... Obesity is responsible for itself. Educated and self-aware individuals have the ability control their eating habits.
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By:
Zane ,
Fri, 26 Aug 2005 21:40:51 GMT
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Having a fast metabolism rocks, sometimes.
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junk food cheaper?
By:
Dorothy ,
Thu, 25 Aug 2005 20:21:09 GMT
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Junk food is not cheaper than healthy food. What costs more per pound, chips or chicken? Broccoli? Junk food is not more filling either. That is why people have to eat so much of it to be satisfied. We are a two earner family and I cook every day. My meals take from 45 min to an hour and a half. We eat plenty. Much more, I'm sure than families in many any other countries. We even have ice cream for dessert. Yet, even in middle age, we are not fat!!
Try cooking. Is it really so much harder than standing in line at the supermarket deli? Is the third rerun of the evening news more satisfying than preparing a good meal? And if you do go to the deli, why not park a little distance from the door rather than circling the lot for the nearest space? It really is up to you.
Dorothy
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us fat
By:
dillon carpenter ,
Thu, 25 Aug 2005 11:41:15 GMT
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I think its thier fault. because no one put a gun
to thier hed.
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Obesity
By:
Susanne ,
Thu, 25 Aug 2005 11:17:12 GMT
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The condition has begun when we stopped teaching Home Economics in schools. Children since 1970 have not been taught the correct way to eat. Of course, having working parents, it is easier to grab take out food then cook when Mom is tired and overworked. Our society has become too money orientated and values have changed. The amount of money it takes to live on is the same as it was in the 70´s, it is our priorities that have changed.
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obesity
By:
Baloo ,
Thu, 25 Aug 2005 08:10:24 GMT
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John is quite correct; unhealthy food is cheaper and that is an index of the kind of food that is most popular which leads me to think it's a self-fulfilling prophecy. Junk food producers have paid lip-service to improving the quality of food but making food healthy is expensive for them because they have legacy infrastructure to produce and distribute junk and that isn't a tanker that will turn on a dime.
Blaming fat people is the easy thing to do but many are fat because they had lousy diets as children because their parents didn't prepare healthy meals, preferring to let their kids fend for themselves amongst a jungle of junk outlets.
As for Paul; should we pay individually for private police to patrol our streets too? If I pull out my gun and pop someone poor, does that mean I should be able to avoid jail because they can't pony up the cash for an investigation?
There's the nanny state and then there's the merciless privately owned state. Somewhere in the middle, with a bit of humanity & compassion is ideal.
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Lack of understanding of the problem
By:
John ,
Thu, 25 Aug 2005 03:51:51 GMT
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Obesity, especially among the poorer section of society is because they are poor... "Duh?", you say? Its because junk food is cheaper and more filling that its healthier alternative. Obesity is a sign of erosion of the finer values of society. It is easy to be harsh on them, but it takes a lot more than that to help solve the real issues. Most people don't care or take time to think beyond the obvious.
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obesity
By:
Paul ,
Thu, 25 Aug 2005 00:19:03 GMT
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make the fat people pay their own doctor bills, and not let them use the insurance money. They have the choice: potato chips and mcdonalds or medical care...its as bad or worse then smokers getting medical care for lung cancer. Any other country says: no way, stupid you ate that food, you smoked those cigarettes, pay your way or die, who cares if you do? I sure don't and my insurance company doesn't but they can't say that can they!
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