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Americans Fatter than Ever: Study
By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor
21 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Americans are fatter than ever, with obesity rates up in most states and fewer people exercising, according to a study released on Monday.

Only a concerted effort by state and federal government, schools and individuals will make a dent in the growing epidemic, the Trust for Americas Health reported.

Obesity rates ranged from more than 17 percent in Colorado to more than 30 percent in Mississippi.

"No state is doing well. We have seen a dramatic increase throughout the country," Jeff Levi, executive director of the nonprofit Trust, told reporters in a telephone briefing.

"Poor nutrition and physical inactivity are robbing America of our health and productivity."

Adult obesity rates rose in 31 states last year and obesity rates did not fall in any states, the report said.

"Rates of adult obesity now exceed 25 percent in 19 states, an increase from 14 states last year and 9 in 2005. In 1991, none of the states exceeded 20 percent," the Trust said in a statement.

The group advocates a concerted effort to fight obesity in the United States, where more than 60 percent of adults are either obese or overweight.

This would include changes in laws, including mandates on school lunches, requiring insurers to pay for weight loss programs and restoring physical education programs to schools.

Children are especially at risk, the group said.

"The rate of childhood obesity more than tripled from 1980 to 2004. Approximately 25 million children are now either obese or overweight," the report said.

FUTURE HEALTH IMPACTS
Obesity and overweight are defined using body mass index, a measure of height versus weight that is accepted by health experts. A body mass index of 25 or above is considered overweight, while 30 or above constitutes obesity, with a greater risk of stroke, heart disease, diabetes and some cancers.

"Particularly when looking at kids, there are health impacts now. There are going to be even greater health impacts later," Levi said. "If we aren't addressing the childhood obesity problem now, there is not going to be affordable health care reform."

There is little dispute over what is causing the epidemic.

"It seems that the cheapest foods are those that are the worst for you," Dr. James Marks, senior vice president of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which helped pay for the report.

"People are eating more and being less active. About a quarter of people eat fast food every day. The amount of calories has gone up. The quality of lunches in schools has gone down."

Fewer children walk to school or play outside after school and people find it more difficult to exercise, Levi and Marks noted.

According to the report, the three states with the most obese residents are:
* Mississippi - 30 percent obese
* West Virginia - 29.8 percent
* Alabama - 29.4 percent

The leanest states are:
* Colorado - 17.6 percent obese
* Massachusetts - 19.8 percent obese
* Vermont - 20 percent obese.

The group used data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which interviews tens of thousands of people every year in various health surveys.

[blackbeatxx]

ugly fatsos just wont stop killing themselves....legalise drugs, that´s keepin you thin..

[blackbeatxx]

....and i was goin on a cynical rant, not 100% serious

[Semáforo]

This post might sound incredibly rude to some people, but it's just my opinion, and I'm wording it a lot harsher than I mean it.

When I see an obese child, I'm disgusted. I think it's terrible that, all genetics aside, those kids won't get off their ****ing asses and drop the video/computer games for fifteen minutes, in exchange for some activity. I really blame the parents more though. They're the ones giving those kids fast food nearly everyday, making those high-cal meals, not motivating their children, and ultimately killing them.

Do they realize that obsese children get teased on a regular basis? It's awful, what they're subjecting these kids to.

Frankly, I'm embarrassed to live in a country that's considered fat, lazy and stupid. Life is about enjoyment, mostly food. But don't thrive on it and feed it to your children, and learn what the word moderation means.

On a personal note: When you factor my height and weight into an equation, my BMI is considered normal and healthy. However, I've been labeled as "anorexic" by ignorant people more than once in my life. That's just sad.

[yankee04]

Originally posted by Sokker

This post might sound incredibly rude to some people, but it's just my opinion, and I'm wording it a lot harsher than I mean it.

When I see an obese child, I'm disgusted. [POINT 1]I think it's terrible that, all genetics aside, those kids won't get off their ****ing asses and drop the video/computer games for fifteen minutes, in exchange for some activity. [POINT 2] really blame the parents more though. They're the ones giving those kids fast food nearly everyday, making those high-cal meals, not motivating their children, and ultimately killing them.

[POINT 3]Do they realize that obsese children get teased on a regular basis? It's awful, what they're subjecting these kids to.

Frankly, I'm embarrassed to live in a country that's considered fat, lazy and stupid. Life is about enjoyment, mostly food. But don't thrive on it and feed it to your children, and learn what the word [POINT 4]moderation means.

On a personal note: When you factor my height and weight into an equation, my BMI is considered normal and healthy. However, I've been labeled as "anorexic" by ignorant people more than once in my life. That's just sad.

Labeled my major points from your post to make this easier:
POINT 1- Totally agree. I know kids who will play games like World of Warcraft for like 18 hours a day, some of which happen to be obese and when we ask them to come outside to do something, they will make an excuse not to come so they can keep playing.

POINT 2- Right on. The parents are the #1 people to blame. The kids, for the most part, don't know any better, but I don't know how parents could let this happen and not even care the slightest.

POINT 3- True point again. I see it all the time. You wouldn't want to know some of the names I've heard kids like that called.

POINT 4- Moderation is a great word. Everything should be eaten in moderation. Fast food is ok once in a while as I enjoy it too, but it can't be eaten all the time.

EXTRA POINT (my own): Blame the fast food companies too. They are also to blame. They make the most unhealthy food with all these oil, grease, etc. that they use. Now you may say that is the only way to make fast food, but that is not true. For instance, Wendy's has completely eliminated trans fat in their fries, making their fries the most healthy. And Wendy's also has more healthier food choices. Supossedly, the most healthy fast food burger place that is known is In-and Out burger, which is in the west coast of the U.S. I've never been there so I can't really verify that. Anyway, this proves my point that fast food companies are respoinsible too.

[JDM]

I am nowhere near obese, but still, I'm sorry America!
But I have been losing weight recently...by doing absolutely nothing, so it's good and bad. lmao.

[:On:]

I figured out in the last few years that losing weight is not that hard. And yeah, I blame the parents if their kids are being fatasses and if they're fatasses themselves.

[Departure]

Sad thing is, I consider myself fat sometimes (you've seen my pictures shirtless right?)

And after reading this article, I should be thankful for that, let alone "joke" around with even considering myself fat/obsese. It's truely sad where the world is coming too. TV is also another thing to blame.

My sister isn't even 18 yet and on her "days off" she spends the whole day in front of the TV and it just pisses me off. Someone so young shouldn't watch no more than an hour of TV during the day. And yet, she spent like two to three days in front of the TV pretty much all the days. And junk food too. That just tops it.

TV + Junk Food + Lack of Exercise = Obsese.

It's just quite sad. Like c'mon, it can't be that hard to go get a bike and ride for an hour or two a day. I used to bike ride EVERY summer. But I haven't the past two summers. But I did run on the nordictrack and "worked out" at home today. If I can do it, anyone can. And I'm lazy right now too.

Children are our future, so I really hope something good happens in the near future. If every child is obese, the outlook of Adults and our future generations look unpleasant. We'll see more "diseases/cancers" coming more and more common in people and reduced age deaths (as in people will die sooner...)

I'm thankful for being healthy, thin and in shape. I just wish people would change their lifestyles. Eat healthier, exercise, do something besides watch boring TV. I watch TV like once a month if lucky.

p.s. and yet I work at a Fast Food chain going on 3 years. And am I fat? No....

[Chemist]

Is funny that just a few days ago i saw that McDonald's documental and I got very impressed about that...is awful how people don't realize that consuming that garbage food everyday are one step closer to the death

[Angelo]

That's not really a big deal unlike in other countries where kids are starving to death.