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CNN Map: Obesity in US 1985-2004

edition.cnn.com — Over the past 20 years, Americans' waistlines have expanded, and top officials have declared obesity a top health threat. By examinating the percentage of adults who are estimated an obese, see how entrenched the condition has become over the years.

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  • jamesallen74, on 10/10/2007, -76/+38Good ol' midwest and south always the leader of our country.

    Leaders in slavery, white-power, gun rights, obesity, conservatism, and..........back-hills, bible-thumping, judgemental religion.

    Let's move Washington DC down south and watch our country lead the world.

    (sarcasm)
    • TheDHC, on 10/10/2007, -24/+11i think you can lump bible thumping and judgemental religion into 1 category
    • ribbleninja, on 10/10/2007, -29/+13dont forget incest.
    • lpmiller, on 10/10/2007, -9/+36Being from Minnesota, I fail to see how we led in slavery (my ancestors fought for the yankee side), white power, gun rights, or conservatism ( we voted mondale for president for petes sake). Obesity, I could see. Maybe you coasties could be a little less elite and pay a little more attention. Being in the very heart of the midwest, I don't think you understand the midwest at all. Or know how to read a map.
    • heartcoldfusion, on 10/10/2007, -18/+82Idiots. Don't you realize that the south is obese because it's so poor?

      Have you ever considered the correlation between poverty and obesity? Of course not. Have you ever considered why the south is so poor? Of course not.

      It's because retards with attitudes similar to yours did to the south what Europe did to Germany after World War I, and the south still hasn't recovered from it; and for the past 150 years the south has been a breeding ground for ignorance, poverty, racism, poor health and poor education. Go visit the deep south and see the conditions some of these people live in before you get your smug attitude about it.

      So now you have these people who are poor and ignorant, who can't afford to eat well balanced meals, and who are too ignorant to do so even if they were, so what do they eat? McDonalds, Wendy's, Burger King, and the like. And now all the haughty brilliant intellectuals of the Northeast laugh at how stupid the inbred hicks are, not even realizing they are the ones who helped make it so.

      I live in the south, and it sucks seeing people live like this because they didn't have the opportunity or money or education to change their station. It sucks even worse when people who don't live in the south ridicule it when they know absolutely nothing about the situation except what they read on the netwebs.
      • EarlOfLade, on 10/10/2007, -5/+13But you and others don't want to pay taxes and don''t want to do anything to help. It's THEIR problem right?

      • JonLatane, on 10/10/2007, -5/+12That's the best I've heard anyone put that. I've tried to explain it to Northerners (Northeasterners are the worst), and it's always been sort of an in-one-ear, out-the-other kind of thing. They can listen and even agree, but tomorrow they'll be talking about how stupid the hicks are again.

        It's still funny to hear people from New Jersey talk about white trash though. That's some pot-kettle irony right there.
        • GawtMilk, on 10/10/2007, -2/+3How come New Jersey is full of lawyers, and Texas is full of people who are overweight?

          Texas got to choose first.
      • takamalak, on 10/10/2007, -13/+15How, pray tell did the north east do this to the south? I have news for you; southerners were ALWAYS stupid. Hence the need to kick their confederate asses.
        • macweirdo42, on 10/10/2007, -3/+6Oh God, don't bring that up... We're gonna have to hear a lot of crap about the "War of Northern Aggression." ***** that *****, you slave-owning *****!
        • nitramlliw, on 10/10/2007, -3/+0really? please GOD tell me you don't actually think that. because in all honesty, person for person, the South kicked the North ***** *****. excuse the fact the majority of people during the period left the South when things got hard. take a ***** look at united states history. and macweirdo or whatever... only about 10% of the people in the south had slaves, and the ones that did had maybe 1. just to clarify, not everyone owned a ***** plantation.
          • cwgannon, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1What difference does it make how many people in the South owned slaves? The issue here is the number of dark-skinned human beings that had been wretched from Africa and the Carribean and forced into cruel, often brutal, slavery.

            From 1790 to the start of the Civil War, slaves made up just about 20% of the U.S. population, and of those nearly 1 million slaves, only a measly 10% were free, and you can bet your garage on where the majority of freed slaves lived. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_slavery_in_the_United_States)

            In short, you're a *****. You don't know *****, yet you act like you do, and you ridicule others in proclaiming your *****, which truly makes you an ***** through and through.
      • texpundit, on 10/10/2007, -6/+4"Idiots. Don't you realize that the south is obese because it's so poor?"

        Another thing is: I wonder how much of the information in this map is skewed by the massive increase in illegal immigration over those years...? If you notice the "red" states in the final map, those consist of the the states that are one of the major corridors of illegal immigrants from Texas up to the northeast.

        I don't think we're getting the whole story here.
        • Timetheos, on 10/10/2007, -1/+4The logical extension of your post is that illegal immigrants tend to be overweight compared to the rest of the population. Sorry, I don't buy that.
          • texpundit, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1You've never been to San Antonio, have you?
          • ccrook, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Actually, they typically become overweight because of the American diet disagreeing with their genetics expecting their traditional diet. I've seen articles on this before. Same for Native Americans. Probably all of the above, combined with being poor.
      • Timetheos, on 10/10/2007, -6/+13"Don't you realize that the south is obese because it's so poor?"

        So they vote Republican and get poorer.
        • quaxon, on 10/10/2007, -1/+5haha so true. i always wonder how they can be so idiotic that they would vote for neocons when they dont give a ***** about them or their problems. just because you are poor doesnt mean you cant educate yourself to make your situation even just a little bit better. that along with all the rampant racism and religious fanaticism gets the south a big ***** you from me, these people (the majority not all) dug their own grave.
        • OMGWTFROFLMAOx2, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4Don't forget who was in charge when the Civil Rights acts were passed..they are still pissed about that.

          http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyndon_B._Johnson#Civil_rights

          In 1965, he achieved passage of a second civil rights bill, the Voting Rights Act, that outlawed discrimination in voting, thus allowing millions of southern blacks to vote for the first time. Shortly thereafter, the bill passed the Senate by a vote of 73-27, and quickly passed through the House-Senate conference committee, which adopted the Senate version of the bill. The conference bill was passed by both houses of Congress, and was signed into law by President Johnson on July 2, 1964. Legend has it that, as he put down his pen, Johnson told an aide, "We have lost the South for a generation," anticipating a coming backlash from Southern whites against Johnson's Democratic Party.

      • greydream, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5Just because they're poor doesn't mean they have to Supersize.
      • whiteyMcBrown, on 10/10/2007, -0/+6How is this the fault of North-Easterners? Why do you have to eat out at restaurants all the time if you're poor? Why do you have to have more children in the South and then homeschool them more than other parts of the country, why try and take evolution out of schools (and then complain about education)? Anyways... looks like the whole country is fat... I don't know how we're doing in Canada, but there's a lot of fat people up here, too. Whatever.. there's only one basic lesson to teach.. if you eat poorly and don't exercise, then you get fat. If you want to lose weight, those are the only 2 healthy ways to do it... and you have to do both.
        • socketscientist, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0"I don't know how we're doing in Canada"

          Statscan says 23% of adults and 8% of children 17 and under (as of 2005). From personal observation I'm willing to bet the ratio is higher in the poorer regions and lower in the wealthier regions.
      • MasterThief117, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Dude, you guys have awesome sweet teas.
        But in all seriousness, I agree with what you say. I have never actually seen it that way.
    • knobtwiddler, on 10/10/2007, -6/+14so gun ownership is in the same category as obesity and racism? thats dumb.
    • Homunculiheaded, on 10/10/2007, -3/+10Wait, isn't DC already in the south? It's wedged between Va and W.Va, which I think myself, hollywood stereotypes(Deliverance?) and the mason dixon line http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Mason-dixon-line.gif consider to be the south.
      • MCMLXXXII, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1It is between Virginia and Maryland
    • seomike, on 10/10/2007, -8/+9fyi dirty little secret. The kkk was in vast majority made up of dems back in the day.
      • techsyslonghorn, on 10/10/2007, -3/+4and there is a large community of them in the North also... being from the south living in the north I noticed that there is a few communities that kept the "undesirables" out.
      • macweirdo42, on 10/10/2007, -1/+4Yeah, but back in the day, the Republicans were the leaders of the abolition movement, too. Heck, a lot of things used to be different. I mean, heck, the Republican party used to be the party of small government and fiscal responsibility. I don't know why certain people want to judge things by their various sordid pasts. 'Cause really, I mean, things always change, it's no longer relevant today.
    • skyh, on 10/10/2007, -1/+4I'll reiterate lpmiller's comments. Proud Illinoisian here, another state in the heart of this midwest that you obviously have no clue about. Illinois certainly is not a leader in conservatism, considering how long it's been a blue state... hmm, let's see... oh yeah, that's right, Illinois was a free state. Imagine that! As far as the rest of your comments.... wow. It's comments like that keep society from progressing. Talk about lumping people unfairly into one category... there's an '-ist' word that would go along with this, but I can't think of it right now.
    • Hickeroar, on 10/10/2007, -3/+6Try removing Texas Instruments from the equation and see how successful writing that comment on your computer would be...
      • allywilson, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1Pretty well considering it'll more than likely be x86 based - and that's originally Intel. No TI or even ARM.
        • Hickeroar, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2lol are you really this ignorant? TI pioneered the integrated circuit. They also were primarily responsible for x86. do a little research next time.
    • LeadOffMan, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3The midwest fought slavery you freakin' moron!!!
    • m0tbaillie, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2Africa, as a continent, is pretty *****' poor, too -- when's the last time you saw a fat African? And I don't mean African-American, I mean a legit black from Africa? Exactly, never.

      Americans aren't fat because they're poor, they're getting fat because our society enables us, day by day, to be lazier and lazier and work less and less while eating more and more - and in larger portions.
      • allywilson, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1"...to be lazier and lazier and work less and less..." I disagree. The French for example (as do most Europeans) work less hours than Americans. And for less years.

        But I'm a Brit - we're probs the same as across the pond in this category :-)
    • btbalance, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3wow. how did the south learn to use the interweb? i'm surprised you were voted down when you speak pure truth!
  • mannaran, on 10/10/2007, -11/+3http://personales.ya.com/casitasoler/james/diggimages/eatedcookie.jpg
    as you are too obese to eat it
    • H0tKarl, on 10/10/2007, -3/+2I could probably eat that cat. Maybe not all in one sitting though.
      • allywilson, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1True. But atleast your puke would possibly be the 2nd most cute thing. Ever.
    • dbz253, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1that quote is stolen from pon and zi
  • mannaran, on 10/10/2007, -4/+21In future, there won't be economy class in flights!
    • CybrStuff, on 10/10/2007, -1/+22I hope there is, so long as people have to buy a number of seats proportional to their girth. I hate having to sit next to someone who keeps spilling over into my seat. :-P
    • nayajhen, on 10/10/2007, -1/+17We have to be thanking the fat people... They will eventually force all the airlines to create bigger seats. So, normal size people will be able to sit with relative comfort. Thank the obese nation for that... Yay.. found a reason to support the fat people.
      • MatttK, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1I'm screwed either way since I'm 6'4".
    • xrenjrvt, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2That's not going to happen, they will make special rows of extra large seats and extra bill for it.
  • Tyr7BE, on 10/10/2007, -1/+22Check out MS! Leading the pack! Or lagging, depending on how you look at it.
    • Hickeroar, on 10/10/2007, -12/+2I take issue with their numbers. I live in DFW, TX and NOWHERE near 25% of people here are obese. I'd put it more like truly 5% or so. Looks to me like their data is flawed, or they're just making crap up...
      • cozinator, on 10/10/2007, -0/+11Yes, because one person's anecdotal evidence is more reliable than data from the Center for Disease Control.
      • Hickeroar, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1these sort of "statistics" have been routinely disproven for as long as they've been produced. Their criteria would put a 6'2" who weighs 225lbs in the category of "obese."
    • LiveWire530, on 10/10/2007, -0/+9Their state license plates should read first at being the fattest
    • mrdeez, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0That's because southern food is the best...
    • k3nt, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1well yeah, they just sit on their asses programming all day...

      oh, Mississippi. =)
    • xiojqwnko, on 05/07/2008, -0/+0Some say theres a connection between poverty and obesity. With a concentrated population of poor people, its not very surprising the rate of obesity in MS.
  • mvanhorn, on 10/10/2007, -4/+18I wanted this to be a heat seeking map lol
  • rlbigfish, on 10/10/2007, -4/+63Just move to where the letters are: less people are fat there.
  • dangermen, on 10/10/2007, -9/+63Should it be called the lack of personal responsibility map or lack of will power map?
    • FREETHINKER2008, on 10/10/2007, -3/+12Or it could be called the I'm to lazy to cook a home cooked meal.
      • MeMongo, on 10/10/2007, -1/+3http://www.planetoid.org/grammar_for_geeks/two_vs_too_vs_to.html
      • EarlOfLade, on 10/10/2007, -2/+12Or maybe I have to work 3 jobs to pay for rent and food?

        The more obese, the poorer a state is.
        • mahdaeng, on 10/10/2007, -5/+11Poverty is the biggest cop-out for obesity that I've ever heard. I once saw an episode of Dr. Phil in which an obese woman was whining about not having enough money to lose weight. What?!?! The less you eat, the less you weigh, and the less money you spend. Also, walking up and down a flight of stairs is free of charge the last time I checked.

          News flash: You don't need a gym membership to lose weight.
          • Aokami, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5Agreed. Healthy food is relatively cheap to the off the shelf crap, but you have to actually use it fairly quickly. If food is the problem then less laziness solves that. However if the problem is feeling sorry for your situation so feeling a sense of personal privelige and entitlement to drown it in a Big Mac then of course you are gonna have a problem. My issue is all the people you see entirely unwilling to just put some effort into it- -learn to cook or move your ass a bit- -then try to blame everything but themselves for how they got that way. Life is expensive for millions of skinny people too! Obesity may be a sign of a bigger problem, but you can't eliminate the truth of putting crappy food into the foodhole being a personal choice.
        • ccrook, on 10/10/2007, -2/+3Agreed. Healthier food doesn't cost much more than junk food per calorie. It's that it's not instant gratification that junk food frequently quenches. But I'll be prepared to be dugg down because digg thinks we should redistribute wealth and that corn syrup is evil. Something tells me that regular sugar, when consumed in horrendous quantities is just the same.
    • MeMongo, on 10/10/2007, -1/+6Both
    • jamesallen74, on 10/10/2007, -8/+6Don't forget "Effects of unethical marketing of junk food by corporations". We all know that corporations are crazy about marketing vegetables as they are Chee-tos
      • chrisc262, on 10/10/2007, -5/+11yea - let's immediately blame corporate because people have no self control and even less responsibility
      • jamesallen74, on 10/10/2007, -5/+4We could use your argument for CRACK DEALERS!!! "yea- let's immediately blame crack dealers because people have no self control and even less responsibility"

        Actually we can. They are as much of the problem.
    • Homunculiheaded, on 10/10/2007, -2/+17Maps like this are actually arguments AGAINST the idea that obesity is caused by a lack of 'will power'. If it was 'will power' what event cause a dramatic loss in will power from 1985 to 2004? Did people have more self control in the 70s then they do now? What these statistics point out is that there probably is some environmental variable that has an effect on obesity, and that more research needs to go into figuring out what that is. Maybe people are eating more and cooking at home less, but it's not simply because of some ethical collapse that has occurred.
      • macweirdo42, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2I dunno... Have you noticed how many self-centered pricks seem to be running around these days? Maybe there has been some sort of ethical collapse. Just sayin'...
      • mahdaeng, on 10/10/2007, -2/+4Yes, people have seemed to lose more will power and self control over the last few decades. Where do you think the epidemics of victimization and entitlement come from? People are less and less willing to accept personal responsibility on a multitude of levels. So, no: nothing environmental is causing obesity - and yes: people are becoming more weak-willed and despicable.
      • superla, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0Actually there was an article on Yahoo today about how obesity has been found to be "socially contagious" meaning that if you have friends/relatives who are obese, the chances that you will become obese rise significantly. So, over the span of 20 years, it has become more common for people to be obese, meaning that people don't care as much as they should when they start gaining weight.
    • catxors, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2You suck.
    • shanevendrell, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2Homu: More people worked in blue collar, hard working jobs back then, got out more, and had more active lifestyles. there was no cable tv, internet, or videogames worth a damn. Schools didnt have snack and pop machines, and back then at least the pop didnt have corn syrup in it. Portion sizes and calories have grown while activity has shrunk.
    • fjvwing, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Actually, it looks like a heat map of the Bible Belt.
    • XombieRobot, on 10/10/2007, -2/+2too many liberal, government-dependent people who rely on social programs for sustenance become obese and lazy because they feel quite settled and comfy. The Southern cuisine is largely consistent of "soul-food" which is cheap, full of fat, sodium, cholesterol, empty calories and easy on the budget
      - Alas, because of the convenience of govt social programs, not only is it easy to consume this food on a limited budget, but it is damn well irresistible.
    • austinwiltshire, on 10/10/2007, -1/+0Or... I don't know, a lack of money map? I'd have to say this correlates pretty highly with poverty.
  • f4nt0m4s, on 10/10/2007, -1/+36i don't even have to walk from my car to mcdonalds anymore, i just hop on my segway and scoot in
    • MeMongo, on 10/10/2007, -0/+16Pretty soon you'll be needing a Rascal scooter because you'll be too fat to stand up.
    • enforce1, on 10/10/2007, -1/+6Thats not nice. I'm sure they will deliver.
    • dwax413, on 10/10/2007, -0/+6ever hear of a drive thru?
  • TheDHC, on 10/10/2007, -5/+10seems about right

    everything is bigger in texas, even the people
    • mahdaeng, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2BBQ.
    • Aokami, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4When I lived in TX there was this hole in the wall place where you could get a stuffed baked potato the size of an infant with brisket, sauce and enough cheese to kill an elephant for about 5$. It was sickly... but I'm not gonna deny it was good :)
  • maffiou, on 10/10/2007, -12/+49BMI > 30 is not necessarilly the best indicator of obesity...
    I think it should be combined with bodyfat percentage to give a more accurate reading...
    • qwickone, on 10/10/2007, -3/+26Yes, you're right, that would be more accurate. But how many people do you really think skewing this data by qualifying as obese when they're really a bodybuilder or something? Maybe 1 percentage point in each state? MAYBE?
      • Krovvy, on 10/10/2007, -9/+2I don't know, I know a lot of ripped people, definitely enough to make a difference.
    • toekneebullard, on 10/10/2007, -5/+11BMI is a horrifically flawed, outdated system. it wasn't even designed to measure general fitness levels.

      I used to be considered obese according to the BMI chart, and while I had some more weight than I wanted, anyone who saw me would never have considered me obese.
      • mahdaeng, on 10/10/2007, -2/+2I agree that BMI is flawed, and I had the same experience as you: BMI said I was obese, but I wasn't. I was definitely overweight. I ended up losing about 40 lbs. to get down to what I consider a healthy weight.

        All that aside, the point of the map is to demonstrate the amount of weight gain over the years.
      • skyteria, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4If you are using the BMI to demostrate change over time, it's not all that flawed.......unless people are getting shorter. Freaky.
    • mfwarren, on 10/10/2007, -0/+7regardless, it doesn't change the clear trend that has been happening over 20 years.
    • tribble222, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1I agree - I'm not a bodybuilder or anything but when I was 6'1" and 230lbs I was considered obese by my BMI, but my body fat was at 17% - a far cry from the >25% obesity requires
    • werkerb33, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1My BMI is over 30 but my bodyfat is only 11%; my chest to waist ratio (a good measure of athleticism) is in bodybuilder territory. So being someone who knows what it is to be above 30 in BMI, I can say that there are few people like me. So few that we cannot reasonably skew the numbers.

      Do simplistic BMI ratios make it harder for me to get cheap life insurance? You bet (volunteered for a physical to prove my health).

      But the BMI does provide a good represenation of obesity in a large population; it's the individuals who are outside the curve that have problems.
  • chrismgtis, on 10/10/2007, -3/+17I bet there are more McDonald's in these "red" locations.
  • BigGrassMan, on 10/10/2007, -2/+9Is 'examinating' a word????
    • MeMongo, on 10/10/2007, -2/+10In George Bush's vocabulary. It comes right before "Strategery"
    • 0crabby0, on 10/10/2007, -0/+9"Is 'examinating' a word????"

      Only to Foghorn Leghorn.
    • ChromaVita, on 10/10/2007, -0/+8To recap: Foghorn Leghorn = George Bush
  • gordonf238, on 10/10/2007, -2/+113Maybe there wouldn't be so much obesity if government stopped subsidizing the production of high-fructose corn syrup, which is being added to just about everything these days. Sadly, it's the lower class that suffers most. Coincidentally, the same social class that can't afford insurance.
    • cunnij, on 10/10/2007, -8/+2yes and thank you for saying it...there should be a similar chart next to this one that reveals increased government interference and so-called 'regulation'.
      • EarlOfLade, on 10/10/2007, -1/+5The country where I come from, lot of government, very little obesity. So, it has very little to do with the amount, just the type of..
    • heaintheavy, on 10/10/2007, -0/+6Everyone should read The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan to get an idea of what corn syrup is doing to us...
    • FREETHINKER2008, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4Great point, I have tried to stop eating anything with high fructose corn syrup as the first two ingredients.
      • SomaSynth, on 10/10/2007, -3/+1You know they're just gonna put it lower on the ingredient list and trick us all!
    • mahdaeng, on 10/10/2007, -3/+2Yep, you're right. It's an evil governmental conspiracy to force people to eat to extremes and become obese. Once the people are obese, they are easy to conquer. Plus, they can be distilled down to oils used to light the homes of the rich and powerful.
    • satx, on 10/10/2007, -1/+5I don't have that much money to spend on food but I don't buy ***** either. No one forces supersized Value Meals and Big Gulps down these fatasses' throats.
      • quaxon, on 10/10/2007, -1/+4this is true, im a student living in one of the most expensive cities in the US and all you have to do is buy fresh food and cook it yourself. if you shop at farmers markets and ***** like that produce and pasta is a lot cheaper, healthier and danker than eating ***** fast food for the majority of the week. poverty exists in many countries that dont even come close to the obesity problems america has and if you dont think there are hoards of fast food places in these countries then id suggest you travel a little. its called self control and americans dont have any, in fact we are the kings of glutton.
    • ccrook, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1But farmers are in the south and midwest and are poor despite farming subsidized corn. But being poor is related to obesity, so removing the subsidies for corn would make farmers poorer if they kept farming it, increasing poverty and supposedly obesity (by other diggers logic) and we'd be at a net change of 0.
      • scfcats, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0Hopefully they'll keep farming it and will turn it into gas eventually. Getting them some wealth and getting us thin. :)
    • SomaSynth, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3Maybe there wouldn't be so much obesity if the obese stopped ingesting so many damn calories. Just kidding of course, it's the government's fault.
    • theRIAA, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5HFCS is only a small part of the problem. junk food and no exercise is what does it.
    • XombieRobot, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2too many liberal, government-dependent people who rely on social programs for sustenance become obese and lazy because they feel quite settled and comfy. The Southern cuisine is largely consistent of "soul-food" which is cheap, full of fat, sodium, cholesterol, empty calories and easy on the budget

      - Alas, because of the convenience of govt social programs, not only is it easy to consume this food on a limited budget, but it is damn well irresistible.
      • quaxon, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2yea, especially since most of the fat-asses are in blue states, oh wait! i love how you neocon idiots always spout liberal this and liberal that without knowing *****. ***** idiots
      • BabyWookie, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1I detect veiled racism here.
    • bowlich, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0I concur, the government needs to stop subsidizing corn and allow other products equal competition on the market.

      As someone who is allergic to corn syrup, I've found corn syrup is in nearly every processed food you purchase from bread to bbq sauce it all has corn syrup in it. Most people don't even realize this. Once upon a time all "maple syrup" in the grocery came from a tree -- not anymore. Most people (Waiters look at me as though I'm nuts when I ask them for 'real' maple syrup at a restaurants) don't realize that nearly every "maple syrup" at the grocery is actually maple-flavored corn syrup. And if you don't think corn syrup is bad, compare the calorie content from actual maple syrup (which is really just liquid sugar) to the corn syrup substitute--you'll find that the corn syrup has more calories then real deal.

      On the bright side, being allergic to all of these foods has forced me to eat a very healthy diet -- almost entirely consisting of fresh vegetables, fruit, cheese, and meat.
  • blast0x, on 10/10/2007, -5/+20If only this was the election results..
  • jamesallen74, on 10/10/2007, -20/+10What Texas would look like if gun owners had there way.....

    http://www.digg.com/world_news/GIRLS_with_ASSULT_RIFLES_buying_ice_cream_in_ISREAL_PIC
    • liv3fr33ordi3, on 10/10/2007, -7/+10I would feel safer if people were walking around with assault rifles. An armed society is a polite society.
      • EarlOfLade, on 10/10/2007, -7/+5Is that why USA has more gun related homicide than any country with gun regulations?
        • liv3fr33ordi3, on 10/10/2007, -3/+6The USA does not have more gun related homicides than countries with gun regulation.
      • KuJo6784, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5If they're in the hands of responsible and legal owners, then agreed.
      • BabyWookie, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1It's not really politeness when it's forced at gun-point.
    • yamyogurt, on 10/10/2007, -2/+4No one is going to rob that Ice Cream Parlor any time soon,

      are the kids still saying ice cream parlor?
    • bonjovisucks, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1doubtful

      but awesome picture anyway
    • alexanEmpire, on 10/10/2007, -1/+5@jamesallen74: Yes, and I'm sure they would all know the difference between their, there, and they're.

      Awww....I'm sorry. Did your elitism blow up in your face again?
    • KuJo6784, on 10/10/2007, -0/+9What a clever way to spam your digg story, and by the way you still can't spell with a spellchecker at your disposal.
    • masterkenobi, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3I think in reality, if this were indeed Texas, the chicks would be fatter.
  • 1jaxstate1, on 10/10/2007, -1/+13"who is 30lbs overweight for a 5'4" person" This is the US, not China.
    • ddxChrist, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3But now that you mention it, obesity in China also rose dramatically.

      "The rate of obesity in China has increased by 97% in 10 years, according to a government report."
      http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3737162.stm
    • kaelyiesta, on 10/10/2007, -5/+3Agreed. I'm 6'4'' and about 180 lb. By that stupid measurement I would be overweight. By any decent measurement, I'm borderline underweight. Until they present the methodology more clearly, that map is just a colorful picture. Buried as ***** stupid.
      • ethan001, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1By a rough calculation, which is all you can get with those numbers, your BMI would be around 21-22. That's considered normal, and in a global perspective it is far from underweight. I have almost identical measurements and I find that the number of people that comment on how "thin" I am has shaped my self image. In many countries we would be considered well fed.
  • daxsymbiont, on 10/10/2007, -0/+7obesity by country: http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/hea_obe-health-obesity
    • blackjack75, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Damn, I need to leave Switzerland. I am sure I'll look like better in the US, comparatively.
    • brakzilla, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0I'm always fascinated at how France and Italy are low on these kinds of charts. This is often attributed to their red wine consumption.
    • Spektr4, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1"weighted average" *chuckle*
  • pilotss, on 10/10/2007, -10/+14Overweight using what as a comparison? The Body Mass Index? That is not indicative of health! Gupta you have F-uped AGAIN!
    data:
    http://theory-of-chaos.blogspot.com/2007/03/thank-you-penn-teller.html
    • cloudyprison, on 10/10/2007, -1/+8I agree that the BMI is *****, but you can't tell me you don't go out in public and see huge people all over.
      It's disgusting.
    • ddxChrist, on 10/10/2007, -2/+1Yeah, BMI isn't too great. It gives some pretty skewed data and should be avoided when analyzing your health. Sadly, a lot of doctors just take a look at your BMI and send you out the door.
    • sxtxixtxcxh, on 10/10/2007, -0/+9dude, i don't care what they used. the point was that there IS A TREND
    • ccrook, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4BMI is absolutely valuable for the vast majority of citizens (ie: those who are not body builders). It's not 100% but it's the closest measure you're going to get to reasonbly perform statistical analysis.

      You're just upset because it's not flattering for you.
    • djpants428, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2I guess you're right, I barely see any fat people around, but everywhere I go there are tons of bodybuilders. BMI lies to us again...
  • FREETHINKER2008, on 10/10/2007, -1/+9Go see the movies Fast food nation and supersize me. Maybe that will cut down your interest to eat fast food.
    • vypergts, on 10/10/2007, -2/+2This map is from the same Dr. Sanjay Gupta who criticized Sicko and made Michael Moore try to take on CNN...
    • bonedead, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5I had to pause Supersize Me to go get McDonalds.
    • jarbarf, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0Supersize Me made me CRAVE a big mac, and when i saw it i could count on one hand the amount of big macs i had ever eaten.
  • kingofthisnight, on 10/10/2007, -9/+17Keep in mind they are using Body Mass Index ( BMI ) for their statistics. BMI is a terrible way of judging obesity. According to BMI Brad Pitt is considered overweight and is nearly obese. So pretty much any muscular person will be considered overweight or possibly obese with BMI.

    Article on the problems with BMI
    http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070305202535.htm
    • superpositioned, on 10/10/2007, -3/+4Except that the number of muscular people in society has also dropped. There are fewer manufacturing and farming jobs than there used to be.
    • SocialPoison, on 10/10/2007, -3/+2@superpositioned

      No supporting data, no fact.

      The number of people going to the gym has increased, so there, I can skew the stat with unfounded data too!

      According to the BMI I'm 35-40 pounds overweight... right. I go to the gym every day and play soccer... the BMI is screwy.

      buried as inaccurate fear mongering.

      (don't get me wrong, we're a fat ass nation that needs to hit the gyms... but these stats are based on a bad method of measurement).
    • sxtxixtxcxh, on 10/10/2007, -0/+6do the metrics change the fact that there is a trend in weight gain?
    • ccrook, on 10/10/2007, -0/+6You've got to be ***** kidding me if you think the vast majority of America is putting on only muscle and not horrendous amounts of fat. Look around you.

      You used anecdotal evidence (Brad Pitt would be considered overweight/obese!) Brad Pitt is also jacked muscularly. The vast majority of Americans are not.

      Please give me a better measure than BMI that can be used for statistical analysis of a large population.

      BMI has its problems, but its as close as your going to get without fat calipers which take more time and effort, lowering the sample size for a study and increasing error.
  • purplehaze420, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5Fascinating statistics here,
    I'd love to see Canada included, we are getting pretty fat up here as well.
    I wonder what the age demographics are as well, I'd bet the influx of obese children are inflating these stats
  • geekmansworld, on 10/10/2007, -8/+12Yesterday morning I was waiting for my breakfast (eggs on toast) at a little local cafe when two (large) women came in. I immediately could tell that they were American tourists because of the heavy southern drawls.

    The first one ordered a hamburger with bacon. For breakfast. The owner repeated what she said a few times back to her, maybe because he's Korean and his English isn't great and also perhaps because people in Vancouver don't generally get bacon burgers for breakfast. She leaned in and obnoxiously sounded it out for him: "BA-CON BUR-GER".

    According to that map, almost (if not more than) a quarter of the US population on average is obese.

    Time to start eating smarter, or there will be a serious health crisis on your hands a few years from now.
    • alpine75, on 10/10/2007, -2/+10So two obnoxious tourists equal the attitudes of an entire country? I've seen obnoxious tourists from other countries too. I am smart enough to know they do not represent another country. Also consider the U.S. has the third highest population in the world. There's a lot of people and difficult to stereotype.
      • mahdaeng, on 10/10/2007, -3/+1"I've seen obnoxious tourists from other countries too."

        Yes, and the majority of them, in my experience, have been Canadian.
    • EarlOfLade, on 10/10/2007, -1/+12Egg & toast?
      Crappy breakfast that only will make you fat and give you heart problems. Start eating healthy!
    • mfwarren, on 10/10/2007, -1/+5I'm from Canada and I recently went to Florida for a vacation. I was surprised not only by the number of severely obese people waddling around (their legs looked like they could fold under the strain) or using those electric scooters, but also because there were very few young hot looking ladies.
      • mictlanian, on 10/10/2007, -1/+3you must have been to the wrong parts of Florida.
      • jarbarf, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0Where were you, Disney World? Most people don't come back from Florida talking about the lack of hot chicks.
    • philipl411, on 10/10/2007, -3/+1Tell that to fatass Michael Moore
  • Mittens27, on 10/10/2007, -4/+5Yet experts charge money for the top-of-the-line diet "secrets" and exercise tips. If they really want to decrease the obesity problem stop selling the help and start giving it.
    • thugok, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2You mean secrets like "eat healthy" and "walking to your refrigerator is not exercise"? I seriously doubt you need someone to tell you how to not be a failure at life.
    • quaxon, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3those diet secrets, pills, etc. are all for the most part complete ***** and a testament to how lazy and gluttonous fat americans are. there is no secret to losing wieght, simply burn more calories in a day than you take in and WALAH! science taught us this many years ago.
      • TRScheel, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Shhh! Dont tell people! If we write this in a book and get Oprah to talk about it we can then make millions!
    • texasglobe, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0http://johnstonefitness.com/
    • 93ex, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1There is tons of free help located all over the web. If you are too poor to have internet access, odds are you aren't going to a personal trainer.
  • loganhid, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5is that DR Gupta (M. Moores arch enemy)
  • 0crabby0, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3Wow, even Colorado has obesity levels greater than 15% in 2004.
    • jeepnut24, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2At least we aren't 25%...
    • tyboulder, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2Will people quit ***** moving to Denver? Please? If you do, make sure you make it Colorado Springs where all the right-wing freaks hang out.
  • daxsymbiont, on 10/10/2007, -0/+7oh by using BMI it may include Body Builders.

    and we're all muscular right?
  • mrwoody, on 10/10/2007, -1/+6Ni matter what the statistic is about... Texas is always red and CA+NY are blue!
  • daxsymbiont, on 10/10/2007, -4/+2fix not using BMI, then we'll lose weight.
  • MajorDick, on 10/10/2007, -7/+1Breaking News!!! FAT ASSES ARE TAKING OVER THE WORLD!!!
  • Kitsune818, on 10/10/2007, -4/+34Useless. This could also show that skinny people have died off.
    • NinjaBoy, on 10/10/2007, -1/+21The fat people are eating all of our food.
    • BigGrassMan, on 10/10/2007, -1/+9The fat people are eating all of the skinny people!
  • MeMongo, on 10/10/2007, -0/+46I was behind two really fat (over 250 pounds) women at Subway. I think they saw the Jared commercials and decided that subway sandwiches=weight loss, but they blew it by ordering 2 cheese steak sandwiches (each) with extra swiss cheese, extra shredded cheese, and extra mayo.
    • Light11, on 10/10/2007, -0/+23and they still think they are eating healthy
      • TRScheel, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1I remember watching a show about obesity a few months back. The part that really got me went something like this:

        Really Really Fat Man: "I dont understand why I am fat. I eat healthy! Every meal! And I only eat three meals a day! I mean, yesterday I had oranges for lunch"
        --Cut to doctor---
        Doctor: "Yes he ate healthy, but any man eating 50 oranges for lunch is going to get fat, which is what he basically did for months."
    • Username222, on 10/10/2007, -1/+4Trust me... Back when I used to work at Subway for a bit... A lot of the fat people that came in would do that... They drive to Subway. Order sometimes 2 sandwiches, just for themselves (usually the most fattening sandwiches, with extra cheese and toasted) then they would drive off... Sometimes, they wouldn't even get out of their car and just go through the drive-thru...
      • SpaceMonkeyZero, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3Jared's their hero!
        Oh the puns...
      • bonedead, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Oh how I wish my Subways had drive-thru.
    • mahdaeng, on 10/10/2007, -0/+6If healthy food helps you lose weight, then the more healthy food we eat, the more weight we should be able to lose.

      :^)
    • nstern2, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Well since this is America expect them to sue.
    • quaxon, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5lol i love it when fat people order a ***** of food and then get a diet coke to go with it as if that will offset the fact that they are scarfing down 5 cheeseburgers and supersized fries.
      • 808kick, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1well a litre of Coke is ~445 calories nearly a quarter to a fifth of your recommended daily intake
      • thepotatoman, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1I bet if they had a diet cheeseburger and diet fries they would order that too. As long as losing weight causes basically no change in daily routine they will do it.
    • accessviolation, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0Maybe eugenics isn't a bad thing...
  • CDoug03, on 10/10/2007, -5/+1considering this was probably calculated by being overweight compared to your Body Mass Index(BMI), this doesn't mean crap. It doesn't take into account body type or muscular structure, only height and weight.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_mass_index
    • mfwarren, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4because clearly body type must have changed, and people have become more muscular over the past 20 years.
  • jdkiser, on 10/10/2007, -10/+0buried for "click here to get the plugin"
    • accessviolation, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Dugg down because you didn't have FLASH installed.
  • zongus, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4This map just shows that data collecting became better with time. Notice all the no data areas in 1985.
    • SpaceMonkeyZero, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Not to mention that they changed the calculation recently... Which made a many healthy, in shape, strong, people suddenly "Obese"
  • Ramble, on 10/10/2007, -7/+2I can't consider this is accurate at all. It uses BMI as a variable. BMI is an awful system, it cannot be used to guage general health.
  • carbonfree314, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1I'm uncertain about this. There was missing data in the first two time periods. Yes, we know that there has definitely been an increase over the years in obesity, but this diagram is somewhat misleading.
    • mahdaeng, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2The point of the map is to show an increase in obesity.
      • carbonfree314, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0The point of my comment is to show that you can't show increases properly unless you have the data to show change. They didn't.
  • shutupdoodah, on 10/10/2007, -2/+7We wonder why we can't get free health care in the wealthiest nation in the world, maybe it's because the poor eating habits of the average American leads to obesity, and in turn diabetes, heart disease, stroke, etc.
  • jamesallen74, on 10/10/2007, -6/+2First the Roman Empire, then the Ottoman Empire, now the __________ Empire. Fill in the blank, let's see what people come up with.
    • Username222, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4British?
    • alexanEmpire, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Mongolian?
    • KuJo6784, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2What the hell does this have to do with obesity in America?
      • greydream, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2On that note, what the hell does this have to do with anything?
    • Piyh, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1I don't know, but this game is fun. Yugoslavia, Uruguay, and The Arctic Ocean, WHOOOOOOOOO!!
  • fuseideas, on 10/10/2007, -6/+8What's funny is how the levels of obesity correlate to the states that contain the most G.W. Bush fans.
    • eatcrispycreme2, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Utah? Idaho? Colorado? Montana? I think your missing the "Bible Belt" correlation buddy
  • kingyubba, on 10/10/2007, -0/+16thank God that Shaq is taking on this problem head on....
  • mesm0rized, on 10/10/2007, -0/+9If we could just find a way to tap into the body fat oils and make them run our SUV's, America would be saved!
  • octophobic, on 10/10/2007, -0/+35You'll thank us fatties when the Chinese decide to all jump at once and throw the earth out of orbit. We'll be ready.
    • Username222, on 10/10/2007, -3/+2This is kind of against my rules on digg... But that was probably the best comment EVER.
  • jerrycan, on 10/10/2007, -0/+7The Bar-B-Q Belt is loosening up!!!
  • jennamarquez, on 10/10/2007, -3/+1McDonalds...KFC... i blog on my peekamo blog all the time about the crazy decline of HEALTH in the states... it sickens me that it has become so normalized
  • gthrank, on 10/10/2007, -2/+9Note how the majority of fat people are located in red states.
    • GoatMonkey2112, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1I guess Hillary has a good shot according to this map.
    • SpaceMonkeyZero, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1Oprah. Rosie O'Donnel.

      Oops, that goes against your theory.
  • dt40, on 10/10/2007, -3/+7No wonder people want socialized health care. That way, they can get someone else to pay for the health costs resulting from their obesity. After all, it is not their fault that they are fat.
    • Username222, on 10/10/2007, -1/+6Of course. After all, from what we have learned from the courts... Poor eating and a lack of exercise doesn't make us fat, McDonald's makes us fat... It is clearly their fault!
    • LeadOffMan, on 10/10/2007, -2/+4You want our government to be in charge of health care? really? Our government?

      Bad idea ;-(
      • BabyWookie, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1I don't care who the ***** is in charge, as long we join the ranks of civilized countries when it comes to everyone being able to get the health care they need.
  • bonjovisucks, on 10/10/2007, -6/+1I believe this chart is pretty accurate. I live in Tennessee and we have a lot of fatties here. Fortunately I'm not one of them.
  • majordanger, on 10/10/2007, -0/+8Maybe if you ban the electric riding shopping carts they would have to walk to get more Cheetos. There used to be one electric cart per store so the frail grandma do her own shopping. Now there is a fleet and a waiting line to use them.
    • Aokami, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3It's amazing, isn't it? It used to be that you could assume someone using one really needed it, but now it's to the point where you wonder if they aren't just protecting their pedicures..
  • dukeeeey, on 10/10/2007, -3/+12http://www.bitetv.ca/blog/archives/Europe%20vs%20America.JPG
    • jasoninoakland, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1I've seen this so many times. Completely stupid (and not entirely accurate) but funny just the same.
  • villainousT, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2I only read a comment or two but noticed that someone mentioned a correlation between obesity and poverty. Although possibly true, there have been people in poverty all over the nation since it's founding. Also, the traditional meals of each culture probably haven't changed a whole lot. Yes there is fast food now, etc but can you really blame that completely for this obesity epidemic. I probably don't understand the whole story but...how about some good old fashioned exercise. I think that's a major issue, with it being taken out of public schools, etc
    • mahdaeng, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1"how about some good old fashioned exercise"

      Exactly!

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