USA Obesity Epidemic Rising...

When it comes to losing weight, many people come with an unlimited number of excuses as is to why they can't lose weight or excuses as to why this important issue should be pushed off to the side for now.  Many men, women and even children are lacking the motivation needed to lose weight.

Unfortunately, this lack of motivation is causing Americans to be obese, rising to higher numbers by the year. Fresh data reported in medical journal Lancet  revealed that BMI (Body Mass Index), a recognized measurement of obesity, is higher on average in America than any other country.
  

The following map shows the Obesity Percentage per state in 2010.

The map shows that obesity rates rose in 28 states in 2010. (For statistical purposes, rates represent a three-year average, so 2010 is a comparison of 2007-2009 data with 2006-2008 data.) In eight states, more than 30% of the population is obese.  Placing Mississippi as the fattest state for the fifth consecutive year, while Colorado continues its streak as the thinnest.  Maine ascended the most places in the rankings over last year, while Oregon dropped, according to a new analysis by CalorieLab, Inc.

 

"Obesity is one of the biggest public health challenges the country has ever faced, and troubling disparities exist based on race, ethnicity, region, and income," said Jeffrey Levi, PhD, executive director of TFAH.  "This report shows that the country has taken bold steps to address the obesity crisis in recent years, but the nation's response has yet to fully match the magnitude of the problem. Millions of Americans still face barriers - like the high cost of healthy foods and lack of access to safe places to be physically active - that make healthy choices challenging."

Some other findings:

• Adult obesity rates for blacks and Latinos are generally higher than for whites, and in nine states, 40%-plus of blacks are overweight.
• Obesity and income are connected — the more you earn, the less likely you are to be obese.
• Education levels are correlated with obesity; the obesity rate between people who didn’t graduate from high school is 33.6%, vs. 22% for people with a college degree.
• In a dozen states, more adults reported getting absolutely no regular physical activity beyond their jobs.
• It’s not likely a coincidence that the fattest state, Mississippi, also has the highest rate of physical inactivity in adults. There was a lot of overlap in the most-obese and least-active lists.
• Nineteen states saw their adult diabetes rates rise considerably; in West Virginia, Mississippi and Alabama, rates exceed 11%.   Tennessee also saw an increase of 10.8%.

The following video  shows a dramatic obesity increase for the past 20 years.