Mississippi Most Obese and No.1 Unhealthy state

[mccarley]

California, the golden,blonde,slim,trim healthy state has 8,516899 fatsos. Stood in a straight line belly to butt, assuming each occupies two feet, it would be a line 3226 miles long. The great state of Mississippi's line would only be 347 miles long.
If fatsos are a NATIONWIDE PROBLEM(they are), then lets start with the largest problem and solve it first. It would set a good example for us fatsos down here in Mississippi to follow.

[Sam I Am]

This is the thread that never dies, isn't it? Been going on in one form or another for 8 months. Amazing.

[Delta Planter]

Originally Posted by Sam I Am

This is the thread that never dies, isn't it? Been going on in one form or another for 8 months. Amazing.

Ain't that just the truth?

Well, for kickers, I Googled "obesity by state" and came up with a whole mess of information on the subject. I just read through this site: Fast Road to Fat City - Page 1 - Obesity in America - MSN Health & Fitness (broken link) which was definitely quite interesting. In one passage, for instance, well, here 'tis:

The same value pricing that works for larger portions works against many of the "healthful" choices on the fast-food menu. "Look at the salads on one of these menus," Young says. "They sell for, say, $4.99. For the same price you can buy five hamburgers. So you're poor, you need to feed your family, what are you going to do, buy five salads or five hamburgers?"

Ah, there it is, the fool-proof, proof. If you're poor... But, hey, go read the whole thing, it's quite interesting, actually. And one more reason I spurn fast-food every chance I am offered. Yuck! Where'd I put that bowl of cottage cheese...

[darhe3425]

The potential for obesity is so great that many Mississippi children do not recognize the word "sidewalk," on a district test, the reason for this is that most children walk on the roads with the cars, which make it dangerous for them to play, walk, and ride bikes. The term side walk is almost nonexistent to many children.

[Delta Planter]

Originally Posted by darhe3425

The potential for obesity is so great that many Mississippi children do not recognize the word "sidewalk," on a district test, the reason for this is that most children walk on the roads with the cars, which make it dangerous for them to play, walk, and ride bikes. The term side walk is almost nonexistent to many children.

Could it also be that the "new" urban design doesn't include sidewalks? Less trash on the streets that way, you know, pop bottles, empty chip bags, WalMart shopping bags, stuff like that-there. Only sidewalks that exist in my little corner of the world is downtown. Besides, not too many folks walk anywhere, anymore. Easier to just hop in the car, drive a block to the convenience store, pick up a bag of chips and a pop, drive back home.

On another note, without really trying, and without weight watchers or jenny craig, I've lost about 12# in the last three or so weeks. Down to a magical 153# or so. My goal is my old "fighting weight" when I was still in military service of 140#. But at age 61, somehow I don't think I'll ever see that goal.

[mmckenna]

This is what I don't understand. The people all over the country watch television (even if they don't read), so there is no way they can be uneducated about the dangers of poor eating habits. So why do they still live like that in this day and age? It cannot be ignorance or lack of education about proper eating habits. Do they all have this "A heart attack would never happen to me" mentality?

[Sam I Am]

MODERATOR: Folks, let's move this back to Mississippi...if we're going to have a general discussion on healthy eating we'll need to split off the thread and put part of it in Health and Wellness or the Food forum - Thanks!

[DvlsAdvc8]

I think that is in southern culture to over eat. That, combined with the substantial amout of food being fried is probably why the south over all is so overweight. I think Texas held the title as most obese last year.

I'm a skinny yankee, and when I lived in MS, everyone was constantly trying to get me to eat more.

[nancy thereader]

I don't know, sam. I think that this thread is destined to go off-course.