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Mississippi remains most obese state, CDC reports
Published Friday, July 18, 2008
ATLANTA (AP) — The South tips the scales again as the nation's fattest region, according to a new government survey.
More than 30 percent of adults in Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee are considered obese. In part, experts blame Southern eating habits, poverty and demographic groups that have higher obesity rates.
Colorado was the least obese, with about 19 percent fitting that category in a random telephone survey done last year by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The 2007 findings are similar to results from the same survey the three previous years. Mississippi has had the highest obesity rate every year since 2004. But Alabama, Tennessee, West Virginia and Louisiana have also clustered near the top of the list, often so close that the difference between their rates and Mississippi's may not be statistically significant.
The South has had high death rates from heart disease and stroke, health risks that have been linked to obesity, some experts noted.
The CDC study only surveyed adults, but results for kids are similar, said Dr. Miriam Vos, assistant professor of pediatrics at Atlanta's Emory School of Medicine.
"Most of the studies of obesity and children show the South has the highest rates as well," Vos said.
Why is the South so heavy? The traditional Southern diet — high in fat and fried food — may be part of the answer, said Dr. William Dietz, who heads CDC's nutrition, physical activity and obesity division.
The South also has a large concentration of rural residents and black women — two groups that tend to have higher obesity rates, he said.
The study found that about 36 percent of black survey participants were obese, while 28.5 percent of Hispanics and 24.5 percent of whites were.
High poverty rates in the South probably are another factor, said Naa Oyo Kwate, assistant professor of sociomedical sciences at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health.
In today's America, poor people tend to be obese: The cheapest foods tend to be calorie-heavy, and stores offering healthier, and more expensive, food choices are not often found in poor neighborhoods, she said.
And why is Colorado so thin? It's a state with a reputation for exercise. It has plentiful biking and hiking trails, and an elevation that causes the body to labor a bit more, Dietz said.
Obesity is based on the body mass index, a calculation using height and weight. A 5-foot, 9-inch adult who weighs 203 pounds would have a BMI of 30, which is considered the threshold for obesity.
CDC officials believe the telephone survey of 350,000 adults offers conservative estimates of obesity rates, because it's based on what respondents said about their height and weight. Men commonly overstate their height and women often lowball their weight, health experts say.
"The heavier you are, the more you underestimate your weight, probably because you don't weigh yourself as often," Dietz said.
Overall, about 26 percent of the respondents were obese, according to the study, published this week in CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
A different CDC survey — a gold-standard project in which researchers actually weigh and measure survey respondents — put the adult obesity rate at 34 percent in 2005 and 2006.
Comments
Posted by Username (anonymous) on July 18, 2008 at 9:33 a.m. (Suggest removal)
This is no shock to me and should not be a shocker to anyone else.
Obesity kills more people than all illegal drugs combined.
Posted by Username (anonymous) on July 18, 2008 at 11:08 a.m. (Suggest removal)
All the chemicals and growth hormones are in the foods that are served in Colorado...who is on the other end of this study.It's dosen't have much to do with ingredients at all it has to do with eating habits and/or eating addictions.
Posted by rattlesnake (anonymous) on July 18, 2008 at 11:22 a.m. (Suggest removal)
It does not always have to do with bad eating habits or exercise.Sometimes it has to do with disabilities or sickness.Totop that off alot of the drugs the doctors give you cause weight gain
Posted by Username (anonymous) on July 18, 2008 at 1:39 p.m. (Suggest removal)
rattlesnake-yes i agree with you 100% that obesity can be caused by disabilities and/or sickness.
BUT...in most cases the illness that causes "obesity" has been determined before the weight gain starts to happen.
Get it? either you were sick/disabled first or you were obese first and then got sick/disabled.
And the numbers lean way more to being obese first than the other way.
Posted by mike8427 (anonymous) on July 18, 2008 at 7:05 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Username is right. It has nothing to do with chemicals in the food, its the lifestyles that go with the people who are stuffing their face and not exercising. It really doesn't have to do with technology either. People are just lazy and dont care anymore.
Posted by Teach4Peace (anonymous) on July 18, 2008 at 7:34 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I think overeating and bad choices when eating is a factor, but I also feel it is economics. Those who don't get an EBT card or government assistance pay full amount for their groceries. They don't get a tax break on their food like those with EBT cards. Where am I going with this? Well, those people with EBT cards should be able to afford to eat pretty well but some still don't make good food choices.
When a .99 burger and .99 fries only comes to $2.14 and a pack of tomatoes, nothing else, is $4.23, what do you think people are going to do? I think economic decisions do tend to drive what people will buy. The produce isles, milk, eggs, etc, all things that are good for you, are over the top in pricing and it all gets blamed on the cost of gas, to move the produce. I think ones health is paramount, and now we do have to spend more to eat better, but the average joe is looking for more food and less cost. This is usually your bulk bad carbs that fill you up quick.
As far as the study, I would like to know more about the population studied. There are also studies where body composition, including bone density, which makes up a lot in weight, vary amongst the races. Also, I have seen the chart that is used to measure everyone by as far as obesity is concerned and it is laughable at best. Clearly, obesity is a problem and it's no better than alcoholism and all the other forms of excess in life. To believe however that it is ALL tied into someone being lazy in every case, is obsurd.
Posted by Username (anonymous) on July 18, 2008 at 7:59 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Obesity is defined as having a body mass index or BMI of 30 or above. BMI is calculated using height and weight. For example, a 5-foot, 9-inch (175 cm) tall adult who weighs 203 pounds (92 kg) would have a BMI of 30.
BMI takes into account variations in build for all but the most heavily muscled athletes.
“The epidemic of adult obesity continues to rise in the United States indicating that we need to step up our efforts at the national, state and local levels,” said Dr. William Dietz, director of the CDC’s Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity.
It's comming soon so get ready for bigger government---"The War on Obesity"
Posted by fire39212 (anonymous) on July 19, 2008 at 1:07 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I agree with you Teach4peace it cost so much to eat healthy...It is hard for me to believe that blacks are more obese than whites. I'm sorry i just do not believe that...unless there study was more blacks than whites but if they did 50 blacks and 50 whites i think they would find them equal...
Has anyone tried buying fruits,veggies etc to eat healthy? It is ridulious what it cost. With the having to budget extra money in for gas then extra money for healthy grociers..People just can't do it...
Posted by NtzMom55 (anonymous) on July 19, 2008 at 4:48 a.m. (Suggest removal)
To make a healthy salad costs so much money, then it leaves you hungry. Fruit is also so expensive. Frozen veggies are much better for you than canned veggies but look how much more expensive they are, especially compared to fresh veggies. And as far as the chemicals are concerned, you know, corn as we now know it, has been genetically altered so much because the goal for researchers was to develop corn into a grain that would fatten livestock much more quickly for human consumption. So "advancements" in science and farming does ALSO contribute to the obesity problem. You can go to Wal-Mart and buy a medium Toney's supreme topping pizza for $2.50! That is much cheaper than fixing a salad for your meal and having an apple for desert (plus it satisfies your hunger much better). So economics has MUCH to do with the obesity problem also. And yes, many are much more satisfied with a dollar burger vs. a $5.00 salad. And as far as trying to teach kids how to eat well, every time they watch T.V., most of the food commercials are loaded with fat foods (including all those tasty burgers from McDonald's or BK).
Posted by hopefloats (anonymous) on July 19, 2008 at 5:45 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I can't believe i just read that the study was based on a telephone call...and that the CDC says the south has a large concentration of rural residents and black women the two higher obesity rates. So the moral to this story is ...if you are living in a rural area and a black woman who answered the phone and particpated in this survey , then you should learn to lie about your age and weight like the women do in california. There...we're on top for the next random telephone report coming from the CDC for all of America to read.
Posted by fire39212 (anonymous) on July 19, 2008 at 11:58 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Well said hopefloats...
Posted by noneya (anonymous) on July 20, 2008 at 12:53 a.m. (Suggest removal)
FAT(obese)=more food going into the mouth (calories) than is used up by the body!!Plain and simple. How many people are on welfare in the south that COULD work that just doesn't want to? They don't have anything else to do but sit around and eat and have "chilren". So yeah, I can believe we have the highest rate of obesity. Check it out the next time you'er in the grocery store and they whip out their food stamps paid for by John Q. Citizen, you and I. Old folks, I love to see them with them...able bodied folks...work like I have to! I'm tired of feeding both of us.
Posted by Username (anonymous) on August 3, 2008 at 6:44 p.m. (Suggest removal)
This is crazy an entire comment has been removed from this story. It was the second comment on the page My comment was first and the comment about all the chemicals and growth hormones in the foods were causing the problem but then my next comment said that it was not true because it's the same food that is in Colorado.
So wow I have seen comments be removed but never have I seen the "entire post removed as if the post was never between the two comments of mine. I wish I could remember who it was from, I think i might remember but I'll have to research it through the archives.
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