US Fattest States 2008 MN #30

[Ticky909]

I wonder what it is in the canadian province north of minne. could be interesting. woo im from colorado, its 18.9% obeisity still though, about 1 in 5 people. I think #1 on the list is 30% obeisity so about 1 in 3. Not a huge difference between first and last. I don't know if theres a drastic lifestyle difference between co and mn. maybe theres not as big of an outdoor lifestyle there.

[Utter_Chaos]

Manitoba and Ontario are the provinces north of Minnesota.

Originally Posted by Ticky909

I wonder what it is in the canadian province north of minne. could be interesting. woo im from colorado, its 18.9% obeisity still though, about 1 in 5 people. I think #1 on the list is 30% obeisity so about 1 in 3. Not a huge difference between first and last. I don't know if theres a drastic lifestyle difference between co and mn. maybe theres not as big of an outdoor lifestyle there.

[Ticky909]

Originally Posted by Utter_Chaos

Manitoba and Ontario are the provinces north of Minnesota.

well aware of that, just curious what their statistics are for obeisity just across a border.

[Astron1000]

Originally Posted by golfgal

AARP had an article several years ago about this and the introduction of High Fructose Corn Syrup into our diet. The obesity epidemic started around that time.

Quite true. The human race had never, ever, tasted HFCS before 1980. It's an entirely new and rather untested sweetener, even though it is derived from corn and therefore seems "natural." (And folks, just carefully read every ingredient in highly processed foods and drinks and you'll see a disturbing trend about HFCS. Remember, by FDA rules, the order of ingredients listed in a processed food reflects it's percentage contained in that food. That is, if HFCS is listed first, it's the primary ingredient in a food.) However HFCS isn't entirely to blame.

If anyone's interested I'd highly recommend Michal Pollan's book "In Defense of Food." It's a brilliant commentary on how the "western diet" is making us sicker than ever. His companion book, "The Omnivore's Dilemma" is equally striking.

[crazyme4878]

Originally Posted by Astron1000

Quite true. The human race had never, ever, tasted HFCS before 1980. It's an entirely new and rather untested sweetener, even though it is derived from corn and therefore seems "natural." (And folks, just carefully read every ingredient in highly processed foods and drinks and you'll see a disturbing trend about HFCS. Remember, by FDA rules, the order of ingredients listed in a processed food reflects it's percentage contained in that food. That is, if HFCS is listed first, it's the primary ingredient in a food.) However HFCS isn't entirely to blame.

If anyone's interested I'd highly recommend Michal Pollan's book "In Defense of Food." It's a brilliant commentary on how the "western diet" is making us sicker than ever. His companion book, "The Omnivore's Dilemma" is equally striking.

My friend is reading that book--she said its scaring the c*** out of her!

It isn't that hard to cut out HFCS. The only HFCS we eat is when we eat out of the home. Barely any actually comes into the house--usually only in an unusual ingredient or when I give up on reading the ingredient in breads (they are the worse! I finally found a good brand that isn't too expensive and isn't one of those really wide loafs. Of course, I need to just start making my own again.).

It might be pain in the butt looking at all the ingredients at first, but after awhile you know which brands are good and which aren't. Of course, if you shop heavily from the produce department, then you don't have to worry as much!

[K-Luv]

Originally Posted by Slig

It is kind of ironic that some of the poorest states are the fattest.

Well, Maine ranked #34 and Maine is one of the poorest states. Then again, Mainers can be a bit chubby, but the people responsible for the list don't seem to think so.

[K-Luv]

Originally Posted by golfgal

AARP had an article several years ago about this and the introduction of High Fructose Corn Syrup into our diet.

High fructose corn syrup is a major player (up until the 80's, soft drinks and everything else was sweetened with good old fashioned sugar), and is definitely linked to obesity. What many people do not realize is that it is in a lot of products that we consume, like ketchup.

The truth is is that it is processed foods in general. Look at the countries that eat high fat, high calorie foods like France and Italy. Yes, there are some obese people in those countries, but the majority of the population is thin. I've been to Europe on two separate occasions with a female companion. Both times these American women were completely shocked that such skinny women ate such 'crappy' and 'fattening' foods.

[huttah]

Originally Posted by golfgal

It is less expensive to buy a bag of chips then it is to buy a bag of apples, sadly.

But a bag of apples would be much more filling than a bag of chips.

[Sarah Maske]

A bag of apples would also be, probably as caloric if not more so than a bag of chips.

[abbygal]

Love those stats. In comparisons Mn and Wa state are always within a few places from each other. Arts, education, architech, culture, rock, and so on. Fortune 500 stats, we place either two steps in front or two steps behind you guys. No wonder I still love Mn and yet live in Seattle Wa, I could never make up my mind to go back to retire there or stay here, what stops me is can I deal with the harsh winters again? Maybe I should make my Mn excursions each year in a winter season once and find out!