Thinnest state in America would have been fattest 16 years ago

[King]

In 1995, no state had an obesity rate above 20%. Now, all but 1 does, with Mississippi tipping the scale as the nation's heaviest.

Colorado, with 19.8 percent of adults considered obese according to 2010 data, would have been the nation's fattest state in 1995.

[Cincinnatus]

Any reason for Colorado's shift?

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Any reason for Colorado's shift?

Cocaine

[King]

Any reason for Colorado's shift?

No shift.  Their rates are still way up from 1995 as is the rest of the nation, but even as the fittest state they are worse than Mississippi (the perennial fat state) was back then, too.

[Boris]

Why do so many Americans have such sh**tty metabolisms?

[Cincinnatus]

Any reason for Colorado's shift?

No shift.  Their rates are still way up from 1995 as is the rest of the nation, but even as the fittest state they are worse than Mississippi (the perennial fat state) was back then, too.

Ahh.. I see now. 

Interesting to see the trend by state

[Torie]

Why do so many Americans have such sh**tty metabolisms?

As a former fat, that little excuse has about as much validity as Bachmann's understanding of American history. Have you ever observed what Americans eat at restaurants in places far from the "fit belt," of which my own Orange County is the epicenter?  Have you been to a restaurant in the Midwest lately, or in a time warp state like PA?  It is as if American's are bug chasers, not for the AIDS virus, but for diabetes. They seem almost desperate to come down with it, and then die miserably.

[Free Palestine]

Of course, this is all the fault of McDonald's and others advertizing to little childrens.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

Why do so many Americans have such sh**tty metabolisms?

No metabolism can survive many American's diets.

[TJ in Oregon]

Americans refuse to accept that in order to be healthy, we cannot eat whatever we want without exercising. We've got to either exercise or limit our food consumption. Of course no one wants to hear it and instead we have people suing McDonalds, trying to blame someone else for whatever is wrong with them. It's always someone else's fault.

The other thing that bothers me is when I see fat little kids walking around and wonder, why don't their parents do something?

Our culture tries to encourage acceptance of everything so the fat kid doesn't get made fun of anymore. Maybe if being fat was socially unnacceptable then fewer people would allow it to happen? But then of course, someone would get depressed and complain about how they feel discriminated against as some tragic victim of the disease of obesity. Somebody would probably commit suicide, too, and complicate the whole mess. So then, we would start another campaign against bullying so that fat kids don't get picked on... and we end up where we are.

[King]

I agree with Cleve.  I was fat as a child, but my parents never told me anything.  I didn't lose the weight until high school because I didn't try until I realized it was hurting my sexual options.

There needs to be more encouragement of healthy behavior.

[Torie]

I agree with Cleve.  I was fat as a child, but my parents never told me anything.  I didn't lose the weight until high school because I didn't try until I realized it was hurting my sexual options.

There needs to be more encouragement of healthy behavior.

And when the compelling need to get laid fades, then it is right back to fatdom.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

Americans refuse to accept that in order to be healthy, we cannot eat whatever we want without exercising. We've got to either exercise or limit our food consumption. Of course no one wants to hear it and instead we have people suing McDonalds, trying to blame someone else for whatever is wrong with them. It's always someone else's fault.

The other thing that bothers me is when I see fat little kids walking around and wonder, why don't their parents do something?

Our culture tries to encourage acceptance of everything so the fat kid doesn't get made fun of anymore. Maybe if being fat was socially unnacceptable then fewer people would allow it to happen? But then of course, someone would get depressed and complain about how they feel discriminated against as some tragic victim of the disease of obesity. Somebody would probably commit suicide, too, and complicate the whole mess. So then, we would start another campaign against bullying so that fat kids don't get picked on... and we end up where we are.

Well... that's completely missed the mark...

As someone who was once a porker - I understand how it happens, but it was my fault - I had a difficult time that I didn't handle well, mixed with a genetic pre-disposition to weight gain and it didn't turn out well.

I lost 60lbs over 3 years and I've kept it all off give or take 10lbs either side for 8 years.

The US has a problem which has spread to the rest of the world - fast food.

There is a huge issue of personal responsibility in this, but food which is cheap-ish, and loaded with foods that humans are programmed to crave, sugar (even the frigging McDonalds buns have sugar in them!), fat and salt.

Add in enormous portions - every person I've ever known who has gone to the US has said "my God, I don't know how they get through that much food".

Keep in mind that the lower your socio-economic status is, the higher the likelihood that you're seriously overweight/obese... because convenience food is comparatively cheaper than fresh food.

Another issue is that the health systems across the entire western world are about addressing illness when it happens, addressing obesity when it happens.... instead of promoting a wellness culture.

Which is partly why I got so annoyed at Sarah Palin going off at Michelle Obama... here is an advocate for good, wholesome fresh food - and the TP goes mad because she has the gaul to suggest that pumping your kids full of processed fat, sugar and salt laden food isn't a good idea - FASCIST!!! How dare she suggest that we shouldn't have the right to doom our kids to early onset type-2 diabetes!!!!  

So the answer is a lot bigger than advocating bullying fat kids...

[King]

I agree with Cleve.  I was fat as a child, but my parents never told me anything.  I didn't lose the weight until high school because I didn't try until I realized it was hurting my sexual options.

There needs to be more encouragement of healthy behavior.

And when the compelling need to get laid fades, then it is right back to fatdom.

Don't destroy the young forumite's moral by claiming that there is such a fate, Torie.

[Torie]

I agree with Cleve.  I was fat as a child, but my parents never told me anything.  I didn't lose the weight until high school because I didn't try until I realized it was hurting my sexual options.

There needs to be more encouragement of healthy behavior.

And when the compelling need to get laid fades, then it is right back to fatdom.

Don't destroy the young forumite's moral by claiming that there is such a fate, Torie.

It is a fate that can be reversed!  This is one arena where there is real redemption. Please trust me on this one.

[courts]

Americans refuse to accept that in order to be healthy, we cannot eat whatever we want without exercising. We've got to either exercise or limit our food consumption. Of course no one wants to hear it and instead we have people suing McDonalds, trying to blame someone else for whatever is wrong with them. It's always someone else's fault.

The other thing that bothers me is when I see fat little kids walking around and wonder, why don't their parents do something?

Our culture tries to encourage acceptance of everything so the fat kid doesn't get made fun of anymore. Maybe if being fat was socially unnacceptable then fewer people would allow it to happen? But then of course, someone would get depressed and complain about how they feel discriminated against as some tragic victim of the disease of obesity. Somebody would probably commit suicide, too, and complicate the whole mess. So then, we would start another campaign against bullying so that fat kids don't get picked on... and we end up where we are.

Uh.. what? When did being fat become socially acceptable? There's been time periods where if you were somewhat overweight you were considered wealthy and therefore desirable by certain people or when women considered FAT now would have been considered attractive but that hasn't been true since at least 19th century and definitely not after twiggy. Otherwise you wouldn't have so many teenage girls  feeling the need to have a 2 step diet plan involving American Standard and the national use of silicone would be about half what it is. People are fat because of a lot of reasons: lifestyle, depression at bagging groceries after spending >20k yearly to get a degree in lucrative fields like 'literature' and 'women's studies', farm subsidies (encouraging HFCs and other surplus byproducts/food), ignorance of basic nutrition or calorie intake, abundance of pre-processed non-foods that you can guzzle down even with the typical generous american dental plan... The list goes on.

[courts]

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Maybe I'm misreading you here but it's not either/or, it's both/and. Even if you can burn the calories to the point where you appear to be in shape that doesn't mean your insides are going to be looking great from gorging on the family food at McDonalds for 20, 40, 60 years.. Or that downing a soda a day or more (!!) like millions of americans do isn't going to give you problems.  I can't count the amount of people my dad sees that were athletes but gained massive weight after injury due to their habits or are still very active but have indescribable problems.. Along side the people that you can tell just by looking at should have had their stomach stapled and then some.

[Platypus]

I'm big and I never (well, almost) eat fast food. Partly I come from genetically stocky stock, partially I do insufficient incidental exercise, and partly I love carbs. But at the end of the day, it comes down to two basic things, for everyone.

If you eat less and exercise more, you lose weight. If you eat more and you exercise less, you gain weight. Australians, like Americans, are eating more; we're slightly better in that regard. But we're also exercising a shedload less than we were in the past, even moreso than the US.

[memphis]

I agree with Cleve.  I was fat as a child, but my parents never told me anything.  I didn't lose the weight until high school because I didn't try until I realized it was hurting my sexual options.

There needs to be more encouragement of healthy behavior.

And when the compelling need to get laid fades, then it is right back to fatdom.

Don't destroy the young forumite's moral by claiming that there is such a fate, Torie.

It is a fate that can be reversed!  This is one arena where there is real redemption. Please trust me on this one.

As somebody who could stand to lose a few as well, I wish you the best of luck. The statistics are not encouraging. Just about everybody who gets their crap together and loses weight gains it back within five years or so.

[minionofmidas]

Never stuff your stomach to the brim, you never know what kind of delicacies might get waved in your direction.

Just about everybody who gets their crap together and loses weight gains it back within five years or so.

I lost mine 29 years ago and never got it back... (though I came back from India thin as I probably can possibly be - 20 pounds less than I went - and I got that back fast. But I lost that just by not eating much in the summer, not by conscious effort.)

[Badger]

I'm no dietician or expert, but isn't there also a hugely disproportionate share of pop and other high fructose laden beverages in the American diet compared to other countries as well?

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

Of course, this is all the fault of McDonald's and others advertizing to little childrens.

Because McDonald's forces the little childrens' parents to take them there... it all comes down to choices.

[opebo]

Why do so many Americans have such sh**tty metabolisms?

As a former fat, that little excuse has about as much validity as Bachmann's understanding of American history. Have you ever observed what Americans eat at restaurants in places far from the "fit belt," of which my own Orange County is the epicenter?  Have you been to a restaurant in the Midwest lately, or in a time warp state like PA?  It is as if American's are bug chasers, not for the AIDS virus, but for diabetes. They seem almost desperate to come down with it, and then die miserably.

The excuse - or rather the blame - lies not with the metabolism, but with the corporation and capitalism.  The drones are being fattened because it is convenient for their owners to keep them in this sad condition - just like the chickens their owners fatten in cages.

If people had 20 hour work weeks, 3 months holiday per year, a comfortable minimum income guaranteed by high minimum wages, a comfortable dole, and mandatory unionization of all jobs, their stress would melt away, and they would have free time to live and eat properly.  It is our enslavement which makes us fat.

[fezzyfestoon]

One of the first things we did in "Health and Wellness" my freshman year was watch this video.  It's pretty amazing.

[RI]

Wasn't 1995 before the FDA or whoever redefined the benchmark for obesity as to include millions more people?