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I thought this was an interesting find that I thought would be fun to throw to my gay buddies here...

A couple of Questions...

1) Where does your state fall on this list?
2) What do you think of these results?
3) Anyone notice that the 5 Most Obese States are all in the south...? Why?
4) How can we change these stats... (if we can lol)?

How the States Stack Up
Courtesy of AOL Health
http://www.aolhealth.com/condition-center/obesity/fattest-thinnest-states?feeddeeplinkNum=0 - Click for details on each State

Thinnest State: Colorado
Obese Population: 19%
Overweight or Obese Population: 56%
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2nd Thinnest State: Hawaii
Obese Population: 22%
Overweight or Obese Population: 57%
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3rd Thinnest State: Connecticut
Obese Population: 22%
Overweight or Obese Population: 59%
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4th Thinnest State: Massachusetts
Obese Population: 22%
Overweight or Obese Population: 59%
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5th Thinnest State: Vermont
Obese Population: 22%
Overweight or Obese Population: 59%
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5th Most Obese State: South Carolina
Obese Population: 29%
Overweight or Obese Population: 59%
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4th Most Obese State: Louisiana
Obese Population: 31%
Overweight or Obese Population: 65%
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3rd Most Obese State: Alabama
Obese Population: 31%
Overweight or Obese Population: 67%
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2nd Most Obese State: West Virginia
Obese Population: 30%
Overweight or Obese Population: 68%
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Most Obese State: Mississippi
Obese Population: 33%
Overweight or Obese Population: 68%

Come Come Bump Bump ;) ;)

The list of "most obese" states correlates pretty closely with the lowest per capita income by state.

Poor people are often the fattest, because the kind of food that leads to obesity is also by far the cheapest. Compare the prices of the McDonald's Dollar Menu vs. the price of a piece of fresh fish (if you can even get it) in the local grocery.

The southern states are historically the poorest, which is a complicated legacy of both the pre-Civil War economic development of the South (mostly agrarian and slave-labor based) and the post-Civil War neglect of the region, partly because of the lingering attitudes by Northerners against the South, and partly because of the determination of the southern white moneyed class to re-enslave the black population via Jim Crow laws.

The traditional hostility to unions in the South is due in large part to the association of unions with black empowerment that has been fought so bitterly. The south remains in many ways economically retarded to this day, and the popularity of right-wing fruitcakery in the South is both a cause and an effect of the economic impoverishment. So is the popularity of fundamental religionism.

The irony is that the intransigence and religiosity of the region is precisely what holds them back, and if the obesity statistics worsen, it may well kill them off in record numbers.

jprichva saidThe list of "most obese" states correlates pretty closely with the lowest per capita income by state.

Poor people are often the fattest, because the kind of food that leads to obesity is also by far the cheapest. Compare the prices of the McDonald's Dollar Menu vs. the price of a piece of fresh fish (if you can even get it) in the local grocery.

What's so interesting about that is... in other poor areas/countries - people are skinny. We're the only country in the world that has cheap unhealthy food. Other countries - bad food is relatively expensive.

interesting red state/blue state split for the most part.
There was an article in the Atlanta paper today talking about how the large farmer's market in the area will be accepting food stamps. So that's actually something that can help the poorer people buy fresher, better food (if they make the choice, that is).

The percent of overweight/obese is still 59% for 44 of the states. And that is pretty gross.

I look back on something my mother told me while I was growing up:

"you should always be thankful god gave you the looks he did, because at least you don't look like that guy"
(as she pointed to an absurdly overweight man)



so I guess even when I feel down about being 'too skinny'... I should take comfort in the fact that it could be worse.

sad I know, but the truth isn't always nice

blind2limits said

jprichva saidThe list of "most obese" states correlates pretty closely with the lowest per capita income by state.

Poor people are often the fattest, because the kind of food that leads to obesity is also by far the cheapest. Compare the prices of the McDonald's Dollar Menu vs. the price of a piece of fresh fish (if you can even get it) in the local grocery.

What's so interesting about that is... in other poor areas/countries - people are skinny. We're the only country in the world that has cheap unhealthy food. Other countries - bad food is relatively expensive.

True for now-- but since McDonald's and the like went international, you've started seeing obese children in Japan and India.

Yeah Louisiana, fourth from the bottom-- better at fat than education! JP summed up the historical reasons for why we are the way we are-- and fast food aside, rural folks in the south have created a system of low-budget, farm-based, extremely unhealthy cooking. At gatherings, I'll usually be offered a burger; I say thanks but I'm a vegetarian and they offer me chicken.

This is calculated by using BMI, which is often not representative (especially with many fit people... I mean, according to BMI, Lance Armstrong was overweight during the Tour de France) So take this with a grain of salt.

California is the thinnest State. I don't see other states are.

gumbosolo saidYeah Louisiana, fourth from the bottom-- better at fat than education! ... At gatherings, I'll usually be offered a burger; I say thanks but I'm a vegetarian and they offer me chicken.

I live for tha new definition of Vegetarianism lmao

Werk Ms Louisiana

(As Jonny McGovern would say - that's my faggottyness for today )

gumbosolo saidAt gatherings, I'll usually be offered a burger; I say thanks but I'm a vegetarian and they offer me chicken.

That's like the scene in My Big Fat Greek Wedding, when the bride's aunt (played by Andrea Martin) offers to make dinner for the groom (John Corbett). Upon being told that he's a vegetarian, she smiles and says, "That's okay, I make lamb."

blind2limits said
What's so interesting about that is... in other poor areas/countries - people are skinny. We're the only country in the world that has cheap unhealthy food. Other countries - bad food is relatively expensive.

I'm living proof of that.

Banning the use, import, and export of Corn Syrup and other unhealthy non-essentials like some European countries would solve this problem. We have a gas crisis and can run cars on ethanol, but instead we're pumping the sugar into our corn, wheat, beef feed, and other crops to boost growth and lower costs. Beef used to be healthy; now that they raise cattle on a sugar diet to keep them alive long enough to grow, it's not recommended. It's ridiculous. Soon chicken, fish, and crops will be manipulated and be a major cause of heart disease. Why doesn't our government have as much sense as the common man? Or better yet, why doesn't the common man hold our government to an intellectual standard?

looknrnd said why doesn't the common man hold our government to an intellectual standard?

The government doesn't listen to the common man, sadly. I wonder who actually reads the letters that President Bush gets... or any politician for that matter.

Well, whoever is reading those letters is having bad thoughts and, perhaps, nightmares over the letters I've sent in. Literally, they sent me a birthday card to fill out - as I was still registered Republican at the time - and he probably didn't see that one.

As for the common man, we vote them in and we have to hold ourselves accountable. There is progress though, but we don't ever seem to look at the rest of the world for advice on solving these issues. It's mindboggling! It's also sad that some of the smartest people, having virtues, do not participate in politics.

Either way, I'm still sad that I don't and have never lived in any of those states. I'm always stuck in the middle!

looknrnd saidBanning the use, import, and export of Corn Syrup and other unhealthy non-essentials like some European countries would solve this problem.

I actually like that idea . . . I wonder what DunkinDonuts would do to their donut formula under those kinds of rules lol