..."Not a single state posted a decrease in obesity, and three of every ten children living in 30 states are overweight or obese, said Jeff Levi, PhD, executive director of the Trust for America's Health, which compiled the "F as in Fat" report with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Overall, two-thirds of Americans are either overweight or obese, the report found.
Americans' access to healthcare, the $ costs of healthcare reform, swine flu colonizing the world over - all of these are far less frightening than the fact that we are greedily committing suicide-by-caloric-intake.
We are, quite literally, eating ourselves to death.
Before you read the coverage, fix your gaze on this beauty of a closing sentence:
"By way of contrast, in 1991, no state had an obesity rate above 20%."
In less than 2 decades, states obesity rates continue to rise by 1+% PER YEAR and NOT A SINGLE STATE posted a decrease in obesity rates over the past year.
Forget outsourcing. Forget the innovation economy. Forget fixing science/math education. If we don't focus on fixing obesity NOW, in 3 more decades there won't be enough of a workforce left to worry about the economic viability of this federation of states.
More really scary stuff from Medpage coverage of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's frightening "F as in Fat" report:
"Sixteen states experienced an increase in obesity rates for the second year in a row, and 11 states experienced an increase for the third straight year.
Moreover, America's vast waistline is "a big contributor to the skyrocketing healthcare costs in the U.S. How are we going to compete with the rest of the world if our economy and workforce are weighed down by bad health?" Dr. Levi asked.
Mississippi was once again the fattest state with 32.5% of it adult residents obese. But Mississippi was not an anomaly in the region -- eight of the top ten states are in the South.
Here are the report's top 10-ranked by percent of obese adults:
Mississippi (32.5%)
Alabama (31.2%)
West Virginia (31.1%)
Tennessee (30.2%)
South Carolina (29.7%)
Oklahoma (29.5%)
Kentucky (29.0%)
Louisiana (28.9%)
Michigan (28.8%)
(tie) Arkansas (28.6%) and Ohio (28.6%)
According to the report, adult obesity rates now exceed 25% in 31 states and exceed 20% in 49 states and Washington, D.C."
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