Fat is Fashionable

U.S. Obesity Epidemic Growing Like Cancer

The following image was prepared by FIRE-EARTH in conjunction with an earlier post: U.S. Obesity Epidemic Exploding Like Wildfire

Obesity Trends among U.S. Adults

2011 Map for Percent of Obese (BMI > 30) in U.S. Adults. Source: FIRE-EARTH (Based on data provided by TFAH; original template by BRFSS, CDC).

U.S. ADULT OBESITY RANKINGS (by State)

Note: 1 = Highest rate of adult obesity, 51 = lowest rate of adult obesity. Rankings are based on combining three years of data (2008-2010) from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System to “stabilize” data for comparison purposes. This methodology, recommended by the CDC, compensates for any potential anomalies or usual changes due to the specific sample in any given year in any given state.  States with statistically significant (p<0.05) increases for one year are noted with an asterisk (*), states with statistically significant increases for two years in a row are noted with two asterisks (**), states with statistically significant increases for three years in a row are noted with three asterisks (***). Additional information about methodologies and confidence intervals is available in the report.  Individuals with a body mass index (BMI) (a calculation based on weight and height ratios) of 30 or higher are considered obese.

1. Mississippi (34.4%); 2. Alabama (32.3%); 3. West Virginia* (32.2%); 4. Tennessee (31.9%); 5. Louisiana (31.6%); 6. Kentucky** (31.5%); 7. Oklahoma** (31.4%); 8. South Carolina* (30.9%); 9. Arkansas (30.6%); 10. Michigan* (30.5%); 11. Missouri* (30.3%); 12. Texas** (30.1%); 13. Ohio (29.6%); 14. North Carolina (29.4%); 15. Indiana* (29.1%); 16. Kansas** (29.0%); 17. (tie) Georgia (28.7%); and South Dakota (28.7%); 19. Pennsylvania (28.5%); 20. Iowa (28.1%); 21. (tie) Delaware (28.0%); and North Dakota (28.0%); 23. Illinois** (27.7%); 24. Nebraska (27.6%); 25. Wisconsin (27.4%); 26. Maryland (27.1%); 27. Maine** (26.5%); 28. Washington (26.4%); 29. Florida** (26.1%); 30. (tie) Alaska (25.9%); and Virginia (25.9%); 32. Idaho (25.7%); 33. (tie) New Hampshire (25.6%); and New Mexico (25.6%); 35. (tie) Arizona (25.4%); Oregon (25.4%); and Wyoming (25.4%); 38. Minnesota (25.3%); 39. Nevada (25.0%); 40. California (24.8%); 41. New York (24.7%); 42. Rhode Island** (24.3%); 43. New Jersey (24.1%); 44. Montana (23.8%); 45. Vermont** (23.5%); 46. Utah (23.4%); 47. Hawaii (23.1%); 48. Massachusetts** (22.3%); 49. Connecticut (21.8%); 50. District of Columbia (21.7%); 51. Colorado* (19.8%). [Full report available at TFAH]

Related Links

• U.S. Obesity Epidemic Exploding Like Wildfire

U.S. Obesity Epidemic Exploding Like Wildfire

How big is too gross?

U.S. obesity rates have climbed over the past year

In 1995, the obesity rate in the U.S. was below 15 percent.  Today, at least two out of three states, a total of 38 states, have obesity rates above 25 percent, and only one state has a rate slightly lower than 20 percent.

“Since 1995, when data was available for every state, obesity rates have doubled in seven states and increased by at least 90 percent in 10 others. Obesity rates have grown fastest in Oklahoma, Alabama, and Tennessee, and slowest in Washington, D.C., Colorado, and Connecticut.” Said a news release by Trust for America’s Health (TFAH).

The following is a summary of points from a recent TFAH report on U.S. obesity:

• Adult Obesity has increased in 16 states over the past year
• Since 1995 rates have doubled or nearly doubled in 17 states
• Twelve states now have obesity rates higher than 30 percent, where one in three people is obese. (Only one state was above 30 percent in 2007).
• Obesity epidemic is exploding in the South, where nine of the 10 states with the highest adult obesity rates are located.
• Mississippi tops the adult obesity rate table for the seventh year running with an obesity rate of 34.4 percent. (Colorado with an obesity rate of 19.8 percent is the only state below 20 percent mark, though nothing to write home about).
• Obesity rates have exploded in Oklahoma, Alabama, and Tennessee.

Maps for Percent of Obese (BMI > 30) in U.S. Adults (T to B) 1985, 1995 and 2009.

Other bulging stats:

• For the second year running, obesity rates have risen  in Illinois, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Missouri, Rhode Island and Texas.

• For the third year running, more people in Florida, Kansas, Maine, Oklahoma and Vermont are getting fatter.
• States with obesity rates above 30 percent include: Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia.
• Thirty-eight other states have obesity rates above 25 percent.

“Obesity has long been associated with other severe health problems, including diabetes and high blood pressure. New data in the report show how rates of both also have risen dramatically over the last two decades.”

• Diabetes rates have doubled in 8 states since 1995. (In 1995, only 4  states had diabetes rates above 6 percent.  Today, 43 states have diabetes rates over 7 percent, and 32 have rates above 8 percent).
• Hypertension rates in 37 states were over 20 percent, 20 years ago. Today, every state is over 20 percent, with 9 states over 30 percent.”

Childhood Obesity Epidemic. Image source: Obesity-net

The full report is posted on TFAH’s website at www.healthyamericans.org

From 2011 Disaster Calendar – June 27 entry

• [June 27, 2011]  Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.  SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,724 Days Left to the ‘Worst Day’ in Human History
• Global Disasters. The number of adults with diabetes has doubled globally over the last 30 years to about 350 million. The U.S. has seen a threefold increase.  “Diabetes is a long-lasting and disabling condition, and it’s going to be the largest cost for many health systems,” said the lead author of a report published in the in the British journal Lancet.
• Of the 347 million people with diabetes, 138 million live in China and India and another 36 million in the USA and Russia.
• Among OECD countries, diabetes and glucose levels were highest in USA, Greenland, Malta, New Zealand and Spain.