Weight Loss News and Current Events - "Fattest States in the USA"

http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/diet.fitness/07/17/obesity.states.ap/index.html

What is most interesting to me about this article and survey is that a lot of people probably underestimated their weights. The article points out that men overestimate their heights and women underestimate their weights. This article is a sobering reminder of the public health crisis of obesity, and, as those of us in the US know, how obesigenic our culture is. Truly, to not be obese in our country, we have to "drop out of the food culture" as Glory so beautifully puts it and be dedicated to our health.

What I find interesting is how little is being done about something that is such a widespread problem. If 1/3 of the country had a disease there would be all kinds of free help and clinics. When is the last time you saw a free gym? Free nutritionists? Free personal trainers? PSAs that actually say more than "go take a walk"? Granted, anyone can go outside and take a walk, but it's just something that I thought about when I read that. I'd be willing to bet that if it was broken down into a socio-economic graph we would see that lower income people have higher obesity rates as well. Being a social worker and being in some of the lower income neighborhoods, it isn't even feasible to go take a walk in some of them.

I guess my point is, ok, we have a problem...what are we going to DO about it?

I know that the story is serious business but I thought it was funny that they quoted a Dr. William Dietz, who heads CDC's nutrition, physical activity and obesity division.

"I guess my point is, ok, we have a problem...what are we going to DO about it?"

I don't see why "we" have to DO anything about it! I get so frustrated with the mentality in this country that someone else has to stand up and fix everyone else's problems. If everyone just took responsibility for their actions and owned up to the fact that THEY are the ones who need to DO something about THEIR OWN problem then, and only then, will that individual's weight problem be solved.

I think everyone here will agree that, first of all, if we don't WANT to diet, exercise or eat healthier, we will not; and second, if we do not take controlf of the situation ourselves, we WILL NOT lose weight. Plain and simple.

Why do "we" need someone else to "do something" about this for us? We got ourselves into this mess, we need to take personal responsibility and get ourselves out of it.

I did.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/diet.fitness/07/17/obesity.states.ap/index.html

What is most interesting to me about this article and survey is that a lot of people probably underestimated their weights. The article points out that men overestimate their heights and women underestimate their weights.

That was my first thought *exactly*!!!

"I guess my point is, ok, we have a problem...what are we going to DO about it?"

I don't see why "we" have to DO anything about it! I get so frustrated with the mentality in this country that someone else has to stand up and fix everyone else's problems. If everyone just took responsibility for their actions and owned up to the fact that THEY are the ones who need to DO something about THEIR OWN problem then, and only then, will that individual's weight problem be solved.

I think everyone here will agree that, first of all, if we don't WANT to diet, exercise or eat healthier, we will not; and second, if we do not take controlf of the situation ourselves, we WILL NOT lose weight. Plain and simple.

Why do "we" need someone else to "do something" about this for us? We got ourselves into this mess, we need to take personal responsibility and get ourselves out of it.

I did.

I think that we do need to look at society and the big picture. What are we teaching kids in school? Where are we focusing education and public awareness? A good example is the "war" waged on tobacco. Lifelong habits are often the product of opinions formed at a very young age.

I agree that personal responsibility is important, in adults. I'm thinking about that little fat kid in the elementary school with two fat parents who isn't being taught how to eat right and what is proper exercise. I do think that we have a social responisbility in our schools to teach kids more than "this is the food pyramid". Have you seen a school lunch lately? I can't eat lunch with my kids in school because it's over my calories FOR THE DAY. I'm an adult! So, out of one side of our mouths we say "eat right and exercise" and out of the other side we say "eat your pizza, french fries, and cookies for lunch".

I'm glad that you had the knowledge and the drive to get yourself out of being overweight. Congratulations. Not everyone is fortunate enough to have that knowlege or the support to get there on his or her own and there is very little assistance out there for these people.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/diet.fitness/07/17/obesity.states.ap/index.html
The article points out that men overestimate their heights and women underestimate their weights.

Um, yeah ... I never lied about my weight, I just "underestimated" ;)

I agree. Schools don't help by providing all that junk. My child is able to get free lunch but i will pass. I would rather cut my budjet somewhere else than feed him that garbage. I became overweight in high school, I had free lunch. The choices: pizza, nachos, cheese fries, and some other stuff I never looked at because the smell of that pizza had me before I even made it to the line. And I wish there was a more affordable gym, In my neigborhood there is no way you can walk down the street for some excerscise.

And talk about the cost of eating healthy, I switched to eating organic a year ago, my grocery bill doubled, and now that I started my diet I realized not me or my family are getting enough fruits and veggies so now my grocery bill has gone through the roof so much that it is almost as much my mortgage.

This subject is really frustrating to me because my family lives on one income. And there is no help for that poor person trying to be healthy.


A small voice in a big body.

Um, yeah ... I never lied about my weight, I just "underestimated" ;)

:lol:

I work for a public school district and would like to 'weigh' in (pun intended) on this topic, at least regarding the school breakfast/lunch program.

As recent as 2004, public schools under federal mandate, had to develop a 'school wellness policy' which includes breakfast, lunches, class parties, vending machines, school sports venues, as well as treats/foods/lunches parents allow their children to bring in and have the policy fully implemented by 2006.

Quote: On June 30, 2004 Congress passed section 204 of Public Law 108-265 of the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004.(1) It requires each local educational agency (LEA) that participates in the National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.) or the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1771 et seq.) to develop a local wellness policy by July 1, 2006 and implement it by the "first day of the school year beginning after June 30, 2006."(1) (eatright.org) or you can google Federal Department of Education and search their site for wellness policies.

http://www.eatright.org/cps/rde/xchg/ada/hs.xsl/career_8792_ENU_HTML.htm

In addition to rules & regulations regarding consumables within the public school system, programs had to be developed and integrated into the curriculum to teach students healthy eating based on the famed food pyramid and activity. Along with the nutrition program, correct portions are also required to be served during breakfast & lunch.

Now, before we condemn our schools for not doing their part, lets please look at parents and guardians. In my experience with our district (I am not speaking for all here), it is the parents that we are having the problem with. We are following the healthy guidelines and correct portion sizes, including proper nutrition instruction, and all we get are complaints that we aren't feeding the students enough, what we offer is not liked by the student, etc. We have to look in lockers and we find pop, chips, full boxes of sugary cereal, candy, chocolate, sometimes even toaster pastries!!!! We HAVE to confiscate these items and we call the parents to pick them up. What we are told by the parents is that the student is hungry during the day and they need to have 'snacks'. We have had parents bring whole pizzas to school to their children for lunch. We have had to tell them no with a lot of arguing and "I will call my lawyer" in response to our denial.

Prior to this new federally mandated requirement, schools did serve items that were high in carbs, fats, etc. At that time, they also had to follow the nutritional guidelines but it was not a mandate. Schools were following what was considered best practice and scientifically sound nutrition guides at the time. Remember when it was proven that fats and carbs were a must for a successful student and good brain development at a young age? We have government commodities that we order from as well. We just don't go to the grocery store and pick from a variety of items - we have a list of items that are available to us and that is what we have to use.

I hope that I didn't upset or offend anyone. My intention by posting this was to let everyone know that schools ARE doing their part. I am just super sensitive to somewhat negative comments about public schools when people don't know fully what we are trying to do and policies we have in place.

This is a federally mandated program. Parents can request a copy of the Wellness Policy from their school district to see what they are doing. If your district doesn't have one, they are in violation of a federally mandated requirement.

I want to add to my post.

We have also implemented a program that includes instruction to parents/guardians proper nutrition, healthy diets and activity. We have had the program in place since last school year and had only 4 families take advantage of it. It is free and is offered twice a month in the evenings at our school.

We inform all families in the district as well as have the information in the paper for community members as they are also welcome to attend as well.

Well said, Chey! I'm a teacher in Texas and my district is super strict about what the kids eat. There are NO candy, snack cakes, candy bars or sodas. Fruit juice bars and low fat ice cream are allowed maybe once a week, and even those have to meet certain guidelines. For extra money, a kid can buy baked chips.
All the regular lunch food is within certain nutritional guidelines. In fact, all of that info is online for the parents to see at our district. Calories, salt, fiber, fat, carbs, etc is all there. When I asked nicely, I was even given my own little binder with all of that info in it. Most of it is WW healthy, and I only have 24 points a day to work with!
I see parents who come and eat lunch with their kids every day and bring burgers, pizza, taco bell, etc. And huuuuge sodas! No kid needs to have a Route 44 sized drink, or a big gulp of Mountain Dew. The school lunches are often more healthy than the lunches kids bring from home. We even have "family nutrition nights" for families to come and play games, learn about nutrition, and have a safe family night.
Even the teachers in my district get in trouble if we bring candy or junk food for the kids. Cupcakes are only allowed one day during the school year--the last day of school. Otherwise, they are kept in the package and sent home with the kid.
Sorry to get all preachy. I just get exasperated when I hear people complain that the schools don't care. Most of them do. But we aren't miracle workers.
Parents, want to have healthy, thin kids? (By "parents" I mean those who aren't the health-conscious ones who post on 3FC)
Teach them to eat healthy at home, so that when schools get them, they aren't staring at us strangely when we offer them apple slices with low fat sunflower seed butter!
Sorry. Again, this rant is not directed at the people here at 3FC, but the parents who feed their kids cr@p and expect us to ram broccoli down their throats.

My God, it is sad what parents do to their kids sometimes. It's one thing to screw with your own health, but when you grow up on crap from toddlerhood, you hardly have a chance. It's especially sad because this isn't necessarily fringe stuff. Most parents I know are educated and not poor, and still feed their kids crap. High standards are so unfashionable these days! People think you're a weirdo for suggesting anything resembling a higher standard. Ok, sorry, rant over.

The public school I went to in Maine did not have soda machines or because they did not believe in corporations like that on school grounds. I think I was on the only one heavy at that school because I lived in Louisiana most of my life and moved up there where everyone is about fitness and nutrition.

That said my parents ate fried foods and all growing up, but never had a weight problem. They also did not have tvs, video games, and were not allowed to stay in the house. They played outside and entertained themselves. Today I find that children cannot entertain themselves (i.e. imagination) without an aid like dvd player. I do not know about y'all but when I watch tv I want to eat and when I do activities outside the house I do not think about food.

That said my parents ate fried foods and all growing up, but never had a weight problem. They also did not have tvs, video games, and were not allowed to stay in the house. They played outside and entertained themselves. Today I find that children cannot entertain themselves (i.e. imagination) without an aid like dvd player.

I think you're onto something there. An active lifestyle goes a long way against a less than ideal diet. Kids did used to grow up playing outside for hours everyday, and you hardly see that anymore.

I don't see why "we" have to DO anything about it! I get so frustrated with the mentality in this country that someone else has to stand up and fix everyone else's problems. If everyone just took responsibility for their actions and owned up to the fact that THEY are the ones who need to DO something about THEIR OWN problem then, and only then, will that individual's weight problem be solved.


I get the feeling that you have never lived in a poor, inner-city neighborhood. I did for 3 years, without a car. Let me tell you that finding fresh veggies was near impossible. The only grocery store in my neighborhood sold limited varieties (probably 10-12 different vegetables), all rotting and brown. Even the frozen vegetable isle was incredibly limited. I remember eating a ton of mac and cheese those three years because it was always on sale. Even though I walked everywhere those three years, I still gained weight because I was eating so unhealthy. I sure wish someone would have made that grocery store owner accountable for selling rotting veggies.

I also think NYC has taken a step in the right direction with requiring chains to post the calorie content of their food. Yes, people should be making better decisions about what they eat. However, I think all restaurants should provide nutritional information about their products, because sometimes people choose menu items they believe are the healthiest on the menu, when in actuality they are diet busters.

I understand your point of view, I really do, because I feel that way about a lot of issues. Companies, though, are not looking out for our best interest...they are looking out for their bottom dollar. If there was some accountability for public health involved, it would help those of us trying to make better decisions. Lest we not forget, government involvement is why we have nutritional labels and "pure" food.

I agree that the socioeconomic status of state will likely determine the weight of most of the inhabitants. I will take it even further and say that even within states, you can just about predict the areas with the largest citizens.

Just here where I live, when I first moved here I could tell the lower income neighborhoods even without looking at the quality of housing. In lower income supermarkets, you will be hard pressed to find many vegetables outside of corn, potatoes, peas, and greens (collards, mustards, turnips, cabbage). There's very little or no eggplant, asparagus, spinach.... It's the same way with cuts of meats and cheeses, too. You can always find pork steak but very little seafood. There's always those oily cheese slices but no bleu cheese.

IMO, one way to tackle this problem is to offer more variety in these areas.

I was on food stamps for 6 months after I lost my job. I was shocked that the plan would cover candy bars, soda and the like, but I had to pay for my Cliff bar because it was considered a "nutritional supplement."

On one of my grocery trips, I bought a lot of fresh fruit, vegetables and low fat, healthy choice stuff and was surprised at the look of shock on the cashier's face when I pulled out the food stamp card. Since then, I have noticed that, IN GENERAL, people using food stamps are eating the junkiest stuff available - candy, ice cream, frozen pizzas and pizza rolls, soda, etc. Not everyone, but a lot of folks....

Even the teachers in my district get in trouble if we bring candy or junk food for the kids. Cupcakes are only allowed one day during the school year--the last day of school. Otherwise, they are kept in the package and sent home with the kid.
.

A elementary school in my town will not allow "birthday cupcakes." Some of the moms are furious. I think it's pretty great :)

I don't live in those states... but imo ...

When you remove daily recess, full length gym classes, local park programs
We had 20 min recess, 45 min periods of gym 5 days a week, beautiful parks and playgrounds, with instructors and leaders where we spent most daylight hours running around playing...

And raise the YMCA rates to 'unaffordable' for most and wait list Boys and Girls Club
We had affordable or 'honor memberships to the YMCA and went swimming on weekends.

And erase playing 'outside' and walking 'anywhere' due to fear of creeps or being kidnapped.
We were outside playing after school, and home when the street lights came on.. there are creeps on the TV and the internet that children are using all day...

Yup... You may end up with heavier and depressed children..
Yes, I'm older and when I was growing up 'it was a different time', but shouldn't we put some energy into getting some of these things back for the children... OK, I'm done...
~Caroline~

I'm not as old as some of the posters here, but I feel like even MY childhood was "a different time."

There was a playground behind my house growing up, which I loved. Back in "my day", kids actually played for hours at playgrounds... we played silly games where we chased each other around for any reason at all. I loved playing sports and went for physical activity every chance I got. My mom tried to make me eat healthy things as a child, but I absolutely refused. I got fat in middle school when puberty hit me with a bang, but as a kid, weight was never a concern. Now, it looks like the kids go outside to find each other to play video games.

There was a fat kid or two in my elementary school classes. The fat kids usually got made fun of for being fat. But now, it seems like half the class is the size of what was considered to be "the fat kid" when I was growing up and the one dubbed as "the fat kid" is usually 200+ pounds and has already developed illnesses associated normally with obese adults. :(

^^ I agree.

A few months ago I went to pick up my nephew from elementary school. I could not believe what I saw in the playground. Almost half of the kids were either overweight or obese.

I see the same thing when I pass by my old high school and middle school. Growing up there was at least one chubby kid in each class. It's even worse when in comparison, that the chubby kids (from my childhood) were actually smaller than the fat kids of today.

Today its common to see middle school kids weighing 200lbs and elementary school children weighing around 150 or 160.:( Also, many kids are being diagnosed with diabetes. When I was a kid, I thought diabetes was an "old person's disease" because I never heard of a kid being diagnosed with it.

I'm not as old as some of the posters here, but I feel like even MY childhood was "a different time."

There was a playground behind my house growing up, which I loved. Back in "my day", kids actually played for hours at playgrounds... we played silly games where we chased each other around for any reason at all. I loved playing sports and went for physical activity every chance I got.

That is what my childhood was like. I had a Grams and Ma that when the sun came up I was pushed outside and was told to go play. My sister and myself were gone in the playground and down the street until it was dark and we were called home. We rode bikes all the time and no one wanted to spend time inside because that usually meant you were grounded. I mean I wasn't even allowed to have a T.V. in my room until I was in 9th grade. It was a totally different way of living and I'm only 21!