Hmmm. Perhaps the next article on this site provides a clue.

The medical definition of "obese" has changed at least once since 1985. Is there any way of telling if the map is adjusted/corrected for that? I know that doesn't account for the entire increase, but it does make a difference.

I like how obese states are the "red states" Kind of reminds me of a similar looking map of the US that separated states by Red and Blue. Funny thing is a lot of the states were the same color on both maps.

I'm sure I've stayed well within medical definitions since 1995. I am steadily working to get out of this exclusive clique I've found myself in. When I'm 40, I don't plan on having to listen to my doctor badger and threaten me into going to the gym.

Alot of this is hype and meaningless. The BMI charts they use to measure obesity are so far off reality, it really does make us all obese. The BMI does not account for body type, and was not even invented for these purposes. I'm not saying the facts are in dispute, but certainly blown up.

That "McDonald's Introduces 1/3 Pound Burger" might provide a hint!

@Murph1908:

Hahahaha! Leave my 1/3 lb McD's burgers out of this! They have NO calories and they actually cause you to lose weight. If you eat enough of them, you may float away on a slight breeze. It says so right on the box!

@B:

But they're not really... States don't get any "redder" than ID and UT, but the mountain states in general are among the lowest % obese. Similarly, "blue" MI seems to have quite a few chunkers.

@rhombopteryx: maybe MI has a load of chunkers because of the state's love affair with coneys - why you would put chili beef and cheese on top of a hotdog and eat like, 3 in a row, is completely beyond me.

I do agree that too many Americans are fatty fat fat. But RocnRule above is right - the qualifications of obese are ridiculous. I'm 5'8 and 156, bike to work and back, hit the gym 3x a week and have a great body, but i'm about 10lbs away from being labeled obese.

I THINK that obesity, especially in children is a direct result of shitty parents not saying "NO" to their awful children.

Ok, what the FUCK does morality have to do with obesity. Lack of Self Control yes, Moral Fiber?

I suspect it has something to do with most folks having jobs that require sitting around all day, combined with frozen and fast food being cheaper and easier than fresh food. That's how I explain my fat @$$, anyway.

I'm not saying there isn't a problem, but are these figures coming from the same scale that label Brad Pitt as overweight?

Why did BMI overtake body fat % as a way to measure obesity? I'm not even close on any scale, and easily on the lower end of the BMI chart, but it really is useless. While I would be tempted to agree that many in the NFL are overweight, the study from last year or the year before that used solely BMI had 50% of the NFL as being severly obese. BMI should not be used for these reasons, without other test statistics such as body fat %.

Here's a link to ESPN coverage of NFL bashing the study, much as this CNN "study" should be. [sports.espn.go.com]

I blame it on TV and video games. Seriously!!

Almost all social functions now adays involve good. We stay indoors so much, we sort of forgotten what there is to do outside besides eating. When you ask a girl out on a date these days, it's usually out for a drink, or for dinner. When you go out with friends, it starts off with some sort of meal. Dinner than catch a new movie.. Meeting an old friend for lunch.. etc..

@enm4r: Fat% is definately the better way. But harder to survey. Most doctors officies don't do fat % tests while they do measure height and weight consistently. Usually the people paying to measuring their fat % are already into their health. Anyways.. it's not like there are alot of muscular athletes in there world. So a negligible number.

WTH is with the continued insulting "fatty" comments, as if it's acceptable to make fun of how people look? Why is that still acceptable when other forms of ridicule have finally wandered into the realm of "you don't say those things"?

Not everyone who is overweight can necessarily help it, and it seems like everyone who is gets made fun of by people who are totally unqualified to make such judgments.

I know it has nothing to do with the post topic -- well, it sort of does -- but seriously, what the hell?

(yes, I've known people, and still know people, who are affected by this, and really can't do thing about it, one friend has lots of other medical problems to worry about on top of that, and it does hurt them quite a bit)

Is this a consumer blog or are we just going to bitch about fat everyone is getting and how companies are companies are releasing products people evidently want? It's not McDonald's job to keep your from fat ass from buying their shit.

Can we get back to real news and stop goggling over fast food restaurants releasing new unhealthy menu options. They're doing a good job providing a service people clearly want. I don't see where there's a place for that here.

@ THRUST:
Maybe it's a lack of fiber that is morally created (not Chinese in origin, for example).

Could This be a reason why Fatties are prevalent
[fantasyfeeder.com]

I found this link while goofing off on the Internet.

please feel free to eat all the fat slop you possibly can and keel over as soon as possible... less traffic that way and more parking places.

Thinking about it, I am ready to blame the advent of the 2-income family.

When I was growing up, we would go out to eat at a (sit down) restaurant maybe once a month. This was a special occasion.

Now, with the increased disposable income, people go out (made up statistic) at least once a week.

This also leads to more meals on the road and more prepackaged meals at home, since both parents work and no time to cook a real, balanced meal.

It also leads to more availability of items that were special treats. Fun stuff like Drumsticks and Ice Cream Bars were special treats when at a park, and very exciting when Mom actually brought a box home. These days, such items are part of the standard grocery list.

With the exception of housing, (which I can't see how anyone affords without 2 incomes anymore), prices on things didn't double when 2 incomes became the norm. And in fact, relatively, eating out has become less expensive with the proliferation of the chain restaurants such as Applebees and Red Robin. I think a steak in 1987 was not much less expensive than you can get one at Outback these days.

We are eating 'better' because we have more money.
We are eating 'worse' (pre-packaged and fast food) because we have less time.

I guess we should stop stereotyping the midwest as a bunch of fatties and start saying it about the south.

@rocnrule: Wow, I agree with Rocnrule on this one.

According to the BMI charts, Tom Cruise and Arnold Schwarzenegger are both obese.

Yeah BMI is a horrible measure of obesity, but let's face it folks most people with a high BMI are not there because they have bulging muscles.

Causes? HFCS is a big one. It's calories, but you body doesn't properly recognize them so it fails to shut down your appetite.

Diets are also part of the problem. As many people diet they end up losing muscle. A pound of muscle will burn 50 calories a day just by being there. If you restrict calories, you reduce your metabolism and lose muscle. Exactly the opposite of what you want. Also these high aerobic workouts (> 30 minutes) tend to break down muscle.

The solution: Weight lifting (circuit training is great for boosting you metabolism), eating small healthy meals, throughout the day, light/interval aerobic exercise. Lots of calcium and protein during they day to boost muscle growth and keep your metabolic rate high. Avoid HFCS.

@Ncisfan: I am horrified in ways I haven't been horrified since working for Video Update and having to prepare the porno movies for the shelf (Latin Plump Humpers 4 has scarred me for life).

Follow the money.

Food corporations want us to be fat and gluttonous, then to feel bad about it.

Gluttony makes you buy more food, which is profit for everyone involved.

Then we get fat. We feel bad about it, so we buy "healthy" versions of everything we'd normally eat (often at a tidy markup). More money for those food manufacturers. Because the guys who make Cheezy Beef-O-Ghetti are just one division of the same company that makes Lean-O-Slim Soy Cakes. You're not going to lose weight doing this, so you either buy MORE Lean-O-Slim Soy Cakes, or give up entirely, and go back to the Beef-O-Ghetti.

They profit on making you fat, then profit on your desire to get slim. The getting slim doesn't work, so you go back to the fat. Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

@Buran: Most people can do something about it. They just like to play off as being victims when they could work hard to stay in shape. Lazy and no self control.

Stop eating fast food, prepare your meals.

What about all those weird looking states around Michigan? Why isn't anyone fat there?

Here is an example. I am 5'11", 150 lbs. I am by all measures, underweight, but BMI lists me as right in the middle of normal. I would have to lose 20lbs to be considered underweight by BMI. I could not possibly lose 20 lbs without a major disease or long-term heroine use. The worst part is this is partially how insurance companies measure your health care premiums.

@Godz: But they don't even have time to prepare their own meals, how are they supposed to find time to workout 30-60 minutes every couple days?!?!

I don't think the definitions of obese are all that off. I mean, I'm 6'1 210 and I'm about 10-15 pounds from being obese...which is about right, since I'm pretty fat as it is.

@enm4r: You don't have any days off on the weekends? Cook food and put it in containers for the week. Do you spend 30-60 minutes every couple of days watching TV?

@Buran:

The anonymity of the internet makes people feel like they can say stuff that they'd never say to anyone's face. So, while most people wouldn't call someone on the street "fatass" or laugh in the face of the JoAnn diarrhea lady, a lot of people feel safe (and smug) hatin' online.

I'm glad that someone else brought up High Fructose Corn Syrup. 20-30 years ago even junk foods were sugar sweetened. With the introduction of HFCS, which the body doesn't handle in the same way as sugar, a lot of people end up gaining a lot more weight eating the same things they have been eating their whole lives. Of course no one thing can be blamed, but I'm surprised there has not been more research on the adverse effects of HFCS.

Seriously.. think about it. If you are in your late 20's to mid 30's now, you grew up with video games, cable tv, computers, and a myriad of other activities that kept you indoors. You ate Fruit Loops and drank Coke, and when you think back there were very few kids who were truly overweight in your grade in school. The kids now are eating and drinking the same things, and even though they may not play outside as actively as we did when we were kids, it doesn't explain why so many kids are so enormously overweight (not just a mere 10-15 pounds heavier than they should be).

I'm not saying that HFCS is the only thing to blame, but I would be very interested in seeing the research. Personally, I think between HCFS, hiking the prices of corn for ethanol production, and getting massive amounts of financial support from the government that could get spread out over a number of industries, the corn farmers are getting away with murder and something should be done about it.

In 5 years we are going to need more colors...

the food served at places like Applebees,TGIF,Texas road house,olive garden are just as unhealthy as KFC,MD,Wendy's...ect

Good rule of thumb is to NOT eat what you see advertised on TV.

I am surprised about the Southern states being heavier than the Northern states. Most people aren't going to work out in the freezing cold winter unless they have a gym membership (hell, I bitch about the 2 minute walk from my car to the office) and obviously not everyone can afford that. While I'm in healthy shape, I definately pick up 5lbs every winter but what the hell is the excuse in the South?

@Buran: The vast majority of people can control their weight. Very few have a medical reason they cannot. Having said that; the real problem is that most people don't know how to do it. Life has no instruction book and the fad diets of carbo loading, calorie restriction, fat restriction, Atkins, etc. just hurt a person in the long run. Food pyramids, calorie counting etc. are very hard to translate into real world choices about what and when to eat.

Roughly 70% of your calories burned everyday is done through doing nothing at all. 10% moving around, and 10% from digesting food. Other 10% is really known...may just pass through you.

So the biggie is boosting the sitting around part (Basal Metabolic Rate or BMR), The easiest way to do this is with six small meals a day, if you stomach is empty, your body reduces your metabolism. Muscle burns calories just by being there, get some. Don't starve yourself, your body will attack muscle first for energy.

sorry should be: where the other 10% goes isn't well understood.

I don't necessarily blame eating out for weight gain. I eat out 2x a week, and I generally go for sushi or korean, both of which aren't that horrible for you. it is entirely possible to eat out and make good choices. imho, much of the problem boils down to the choices we make in our food, both at home and at the restaurant.

@HeyHermano:

but what the hell is the excuse in the South?

Southern summers, and I say this as someone who lived in the Deep South for most of my life.

Exercising outside during the summer when there are heat advisories can be seriously hazardous to one's health (heatstroke, etc.)

I'm not saying that's the only reason. I lived in South Louisiana and the food was awesome.

[www.foodnavigator-usa.com]

I would not be shocked if other organic foods had higher levels of minerals, vitamins, and other necessary food products. Food science has taken dramatic leaps in the last 20 years. Fruits and vegetables have been engineered to "ship better". Meat has been engineered to grow bigger, faster and maximize profits.

A logical leap would be to assume that nutrition levels have decreased in exchange for the bigger, year-round, more robust, better shipping, more colorful and perceptually better in exchange for nutrition, flavor, and ripeness.

As nutrition decreases the amount of food you need to consume to fill the natural biochemical cravings that result from lacking nutrition increases. Bulk increases, fat increases, volume increases, other food elements that add empty calories and increase your own obesity, must be consumed in greater amounts in order to acquire the nutrition you need.

When this is coupled with the quick thrill that "junk" foods and low-nutrition foods fulfills the effects are multiplied. All of this results in an increase in obesity.

I would like to see charts paralleling food science and adjustment with increase in obesity. That could disprove the above hypothetical or could add evidence to it.

Thoughts?

@HeyHermano: 'Cause here in the South it gets too hot to breathe. :> Working out in air conditioning still means you have to brand your hands on the steering wheel, get flash burns from the windows, and tattoo yourself with the seatbelt buckle to get there.

Personally, I blame HFCS and fat, and portions served. People will eat whatever's put in front of them, and restaurants are serving larger portions than they did 20 or 30 years ago. Then they have the expectation that EVERY meal is supposed to have that much food, so any meal served at home gets the same super-size treatment.

@Buran:
I doubt anybody will argue a fat person with a medical condition is different than fat people in general. These people know who they are so should not be offended. However, people hating on fat people is no different than people hating on smokers. People will tell me to my face, my smoking costs them money on my future cancer treatments. Those aren't only skinny people saying that. I have to accept that, and I am not offended. So why can't I in turn, accuse them of the same!?

@HeyHermano:

Ever heard of soul food? Most southern food is somehow cooked in large amounts of lard, vegetable oil, and/or butter. It's easy to escape this in the fairly large cities, but there aren't too many healthy restaurants/grocery stores elsewhere.

@jamesdenver: I think you mean overweight, not obese. Overweight is BMI of 25-29.9, which at 5'8" is 164-196. You would be considered obese if you hit 197.

[www.consumer.gov]

i'm no angel when it comes to eating, but i heartily agree that the BMI is a stupid measurement.

i'm really muscular (although i am a bit overweight), but according to the BMI charts i should lose something like 35 pounds. i would look completely ridiculous if i lost 35 pounds!

...besides, the only way i would ever weigh that much involves something getting amputated.