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By a Mile Colorado is the least fat with 16.9% obese
Midwest and SE US - we are in bad shape, southwest not as bad, but rockies area seems to the best. Upper New England not too shabby...
Now that is just obese people... kind of scary nearly 25% of the country is obese.... when you include overweight its 2/3 of many states. Gotta love the car culture.
By a Mile Colorado is the least fat with 16.9% obese
Midwest and SE US - we are in bad shape, southwest not as bad, but rockies area seems to the best. Upper New England not too shabby...
Now that is just obese people... kind of scary nearly 25% of the country is obese.... when you include overweight its 2/3 of many states. Gotta love the car culture.
Springfield, Missouri once held the honor of fattest city in America years ago, but when I moved here, I was surprised to see relatively few truly fat people. Most of the middle-aged and elderly here are fairly slim and in relatively good shape, a pleasant surprise! I hope their kids follow their example. However, in Las Vegas where I moved from, there were HUGE people everywhere. Heck, it's not just an American problem, look at the Canadians, they have the highest amount of trans-fat in their food, no labeling warning the customers about it, and they're OBESE (no offense ColdCanadian if you read this... ). Look at the British now, just watch BBC America's "Cash in the Attic" and check out all the fat people. Their children are all fat, grossly so. It's everywhere. I read that Wendy's was removing it's hydrogenated oils for frying effective this month (August 06), and banning most trans-fat out of their food, very welcome. McDonalds promised to do this four years ago and hasn't kept its promise. Cities where pedestrian traffic is more effective than car traffic tend to have slim people. When I lived in San Francisco, I used to have to climb Nob Hill twice a day to do deliveries from one part of the business I worked for to the other part at the Fairmont Hotel. I had buns of steel and powerful legs The fat people were tourists. The Mormons are noted for being fat in Utah, highest per capital cake/brownie mix consumption in the USA. If you've been to SLC, you can see that there is quite a bit of pressure on the earth's crust at that location... I've read that most of the problem lies with cheap food, both cheap in quality and price, which is most affordable to the poor (Mississippi, Louisiana, etc.). We have to get the trans-fat not just labeled (which it mostly is...though...if it's under .5g's I believe it is, they can legally claim 0g), we have to get it out of our frying oils. Denmark for instance has banned trans-fats in its food and cooking oils. McDonalds doesn't use trans-fats therefore in its Danish franchises. You'll notice that Nabisco Oreo cookies are now trans-fat free, as are finally pop-tarts (brown sugar cinammon..my favorite ). What bothers me is seeing slim parents with obese children. I really think they're failing their kids when they allow them to get fat as children and I find it disgusting seeing commercials on TV advertising desserts and food products where a fat kid is stuffing his mouth. Anyway, hopefully the trend will slim down at some point just for people's health and well-being. It is what we eat and how much we eat, not our genetics. If it was our genetics, people would have always been obese, and they weren't.
I moved from Colorado to Michigan (it's one of the "fatter" states) and it's a noticeable difference. At least 50% are overweight. In long lines at the store or wherever I amuse myself by counting the number of overweight people to the non-overweight ones.
Colorado has more of a culture of getting out and being active. Parks and open space close to cities were almost too crowded for an enjoyable walk, year 'round. Walkres, bikes, rollerbladers, folks walking dogs, jogging, families strolling together, whatever. You had to drive a bit out of town to find less crowded trails. City parks with basketball hoops or baseball diamonds were in use whenever the weather was halfway decent.
Here in SE MI, seems getting outdoors means sitting on a boat all day, or having a BBQ at a park, or fishing or hunting. Where I'm living there's lots of city parks, long trails along the river and several really nice county and state parks within 10 miles with beaches, rivers, hiking trails. And they are practically empty, even on beautiful summer or crisp fall days.
There's a county park with a lake beach and several miles of pretty wooded trails just outside of the city, about 6 miles from me. There's 1000's of homes and subdivisions within 5 miles of it and it's almost always empty. There's parking for a couple hundred cars and when I go to walk my dogs I am often the only one there. I've taken photos of the empty lot on weekends and sent them to friends back in CO, they're astonished by this!
It's one thing I really miss. I've made a number of good friends in the 5 years I've been here and not a one of them would even consider walking around the block purely for exercise, let alone go hiking. I've even looked for hiking and outdoors groups to join because I'd like company but don't think there's any near me.
Anyhow, I think that is a big part of it too.
I grew up in Europe and the same trend is happening there, as MoMark says. When I was in high school in Scotland (1970s) there was one overweight kid in my final year. That was so unusual I still remember her name. It's not like that any more. Used to be it was easy to play "spot the American tourist." They were always the fat ones.
I think it's tantamount to child abuse to let a kid get fat because it often sets them up for a lifetime of health (and sometimes social/emotional) problems. I have a good friend here who was obese as a child, still is, and at 51 is in very poor health, diabetic and in danger of going blind from diabetic retinopathy. She agrees with me. All her health problems are related to being overweight and diabetic. Her parents are in their early 70's and thin, even though her mother smokes chances are they will outlive their daughter.
No matter what the reason - genetics, metabolism, whetever - the solution is to eat less and eat healthier and get some exercise. It is is NOT necessarily cheaper to eat healthy; an excuse often given. Unless there is a true metabolic or endocrine disorder, eating less will drop the weight. It is both as difficult, and as easy, as that.
I can't speak to UK since I have not been there since 87, but I was in Holland about 4 years ago and I was considered normal... me being slim I didn't notice the lack of overweight people until I got back to the US and literally within seconds of getting off a connecting flight in Philly I was walking the terminal and it is everywhere. You don't really notice it anymore until you go to other countries I guess. But people walk there, they bike, they move around, even walking to bus stops (just imagine - the horror!) walking farther than to your garage??!
Maybe its the curse of being a "rich 1st world country" - since we don't have to work farms anymore, but then again it was nothing like this in the 50s and 60s either and we were relatively doing the same type of work.
I wouldn't blame it all on trans fats, I think that is more of a health issue - calories are calories and when you look at portions we eat versus what they serve in most of Europe, again the difference is startling.
Also women's dress sizes have steadily increased at each size... I saw on a CBS report where they compared dress sizes from 60s/70s/80s/90s/00s and a size 6 is about 35% bigger than a size 6 was in the 60s... funny. anything to make people feel good and buy the clothes.
But we are Americanizing the world ! The 2 longest living people are some island off of Greece and an area off of Japan.... people in both regions (eating very similar diets) had large % of their people living productive lives >90 years old. Very fit populations. Then in mid 90s McDonald's finally got to these remote areas and in past 10 years alone, average lifespan dropped 8 years. I wish I had the article - I was amazed when I saw the effect it had.
But we don't say no to anything, we deserve all this food for our hard work and stressed out lives or so that's what everyone says... or its a pituary gland condition. While I am sure 0.05% of the population does have that pituary gland situation I think the rest of us, we are just living in our cars.
Anyhow, didnt mean it to be a social commentary - I just found it interesting and not too surprised on what areas (outdoorsy) in the west had lower rates but I am curious why that little band in New England is relatively decent off. (sad statement when 20% obese rate is considered 'pretty healthy' relatively!)
Here in SE MI, seems getting outdoors means sitting on a boat all day, or having a BBQ at a park, or fishing or hunting. Where I'm living there's lots of city parks, long trails along the river and several really nice county and state parks within 10 miles with beaches, rivers, hiking trails. And they are practically empty, even on beautiful summer or crisp fall days.
I'm with you paws... I am in the same location you are. What city are yuo in ??? long trails along the river? I am thinking Ann Arbor or somewhere in northern Oakland county. I am in Royal Oak - we have a few parks. I take my dogs...they run. No one is walking or running themselves lol. But the majority of SE MI is also paved over!! you have to go to wealthier parts of Oakland or out to Ann Arbor way or north of the major developments in Macomb to find green space (except for the relatively few parks)
CO sounds nice - I am not an outdoorsman and need to be hiking each weekend, but just to be outside in our 3 months of summer I love it. I am out each and every evening unti the cold comes...which should be in about 4 weeks
Also women's dress sizes have steadily increased at each size... I saw on a CBS report where they compared dress sizes from 60s/70s/80s/90s/00s and a size 6 is about 35% bigger than a size 6 was in the 60s... funny. anything to make people feel good and buy the clothes.
That is so true! I used to be a size 10-12. Now I am size 6-8. I am 48 and weigh what I did in high school, so I sure haven't changed.
And no, I'm not one of those "lucky "ones who is "thin no matter what I eat." I eat plenty, but try to avoid lots of fast food and junk & eat (mostly) healthy. And I'm active. Going through menopause I assure you I'm definitely more conscious of what I eat because those pounds will sneak on before you know it!
But I don't want to be overweight, I was once when I quit smoking and I felt horrible, had less energy and out of touch with my physical self, if that makes sense. I don't want to feel like that again. So every time I get a couple of sneaky pounds creeping around my middle I eat a bit less and they go away.
thisguy, I'm in Flint. (A2, I wish.) On the East side, no less...but my house is about a mile from the Flint River and the state park I'm talking about is Bluebell Beach, if anyone else from around here knows the area.
I could name a bunch of parks with trails within 10 miles of where I live. When I lived in Grand Blanc, I swear every house near me had a dog but it was rare to see anyone in the burbs strolling with their dogs through the subdivisions either. (About 50% of the pets in this country are fat too.)
Royal Oak is nice, from what I've seen.
thisguy, I'm in Flint. (A2, I wish.) On the East side, no less...but my house is about a mile from the Flint River and the state park I'm talking about is Bluebell Beach, if anyone else from around here knows the area.
I could name a bunch of parks with trails within 10 miles of where I live. When I lived in Grand Blanc, I swear every house near me had a dog but it was rare to see anyone in the burbs strolling with their dogs through the subdivisions either. (About 50% of the pets in this country are fat too.)
Royal Oak is nice, from what I've seen.
LOL
I am laughing about the dog comments, you are so right
Especially the labs - oh my gosh some of them look like mini tanks with 4 legs sticking out for underneath, I feel bad for those guys when I see them in the dog park - they get pooped after about 5 minutes while the normal dogs can run for hours. I think this is how people show love in this country spoil the kids with 'items' and dogs with 'food'.
I don't get out to Flint - you make it sound nicer than I have heard. lol I have heard Grand Blanc is pretty nice though.
I like Royal Oak...and towns like Ann Arbor, they are the few that have downtowns and you actually see people walking around and sidewalk cafes, clubs, etc. Our downtown has about 2 blocks of that (by the stadium) and that's it. So depressing, especially when you compare to Chicago or even Cleveland. So we have some mini versions in the suburban cities but even most suburban cities here have no downtown, just mile after mile of the exact same strip malls and no gather places. Western suburbs are pricey but have a few nice downtowns like Northville and Plymouth.
Anyhow was in the 40s this morning - getting me already depressed about the upcoming winter.... lol
No offence taken. I'm actually 5'8" and only 140 lbs.
Where I live the miserable weather is the reason we have a culture of living indoors for at least 7 months a year. In our country the people on the Pacific are the healthiest and thinnest, but they have winters almost as mild as Seatle and spectacular mountains to ski in. The people in the Atlantic are generally poorer and fatter than the rest of Canada. (even crumbier weather than here, plus a more hospitable attitude)
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obesity in America
). Look at the British now, just watch BBC America's "Cash in the Attic" and check out all the fat people. Their children are all fat, grossly so. It's everywhere. I read that Wendy's was removing it's hydrogenated oils for frying effective this month (August 06), and banning most trans-fat out of their food, very welcome. McDonalds promised to do this four years ago and hasn't kept its promise. Cities where pedestrian traffic is more effective than car traffic tend to have slim people. When I lived in San Francisco, I used to have to climb Nob Hill twice a day to do deliveries from one part of the business I worked for to the other part at the Fairmont Hotel. I had buns of steel and powerful legs 
The fat people were tourists. The Mormons are noted for being fat in Utah, highest per capital cake/brownie mix consumption in the USA. If you've been to SLC, you can see that there is quite a bit of pressure on the earth's crust at that location... I've read that most of the problem lies with cheap food, both cheap in quality and price, which is most affordable to the poor (Mississippi, Louisiana, etc.). We have to get the trans-fat not just labeled (which it mostly is...though...if it's under .5g's I believe it is, they can legally claim 0g), we have to get it out of our frying oils. Denmark for instance has banned trans-fats in its food and cooking oils. McDonalds doesn't use trans-fats therefore in its Danish franchises. You'll notice that Nabisco Oreo cookies are now trans-fat free, as are finally pop-tarts (brown sugar cinammon..my favorite 
or so that's what everyone says... or its a pituary gland condition. While I am sure 0.05% of the population does have that pituary gland situation I think the rest of us, we are just living in our cars.
(A2, I wish.) On the East side, no less...but my house is about a mile from the Flint River and the state park I'm talking about is Bluebell Beach, if anyone else from around here knows the area.
