Good news for all of you chubby chasers out there, Texas has a noticeably larger waistline than it did 15 years ago.
The Lone Star State was named the 12th most obese in the country, according to the eighth annual "F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America's Future 2011," a report from the Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Texas's adult obesity rate is 30.1 percent.
The South is well represented at the top of the rankings. The Dixie states are known for high-calorie diets and high levels of chronic diseases.
Here's how The Town Talk of Alexandria, La., put it: "You can probably guess the five fattest states: Mississippi's big bottom weighs in on top of this list, with a 34.4 percent obesity rate. Right behind, so to speak, are Alabama (32.3 percent), West Virginia (32.2 percent), Tennessee (31.9 percent) and Louisiana (31.6 percent)."
Texas isn't far behind. We're going to have invest in even more ostentatious belt buckles if we can't curb our varacious appetites.
According the report:
It isn't just adults. We're passing bad eating habits on to our chunky children. According to the report, 20.4 percent of kids in Texas are considered obese.
Doctors agree that the more overweight a person is, the more likely he or she is to have health problems. A person is considered obese if he or she weighs at least 20 percent more than the maximum healthy weight for his or her height. You can calculate your Body Mass Index to determine if you are obese.
The health problems associated with obesity are numerous. Someone who is 40 percent overweight is twice as likely to die prematurely as a person with a healthy weight. Obesity is linked to several serious health conditions, including heart disease and stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes and breathing problems such as sleep apnea and asthma.
So how do stop our porcine population's gut growth? The report lists several suggestions for lawmakers. Most include taxpayer money, such as implementing the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act and restoring $833 million in cuts and fully funding programs such as the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children.
In Canada, some health care leaders are pushing more drastic measures. In an editorial published April 26 in the Canadian Medical Association Journal doctors recommend approving a "sin tax" on high-calorie snacks and immediately banning trans fats, which manufacturers use to prolong the shelf-life of food and make products cheaper.
Trans fats raise the levels of “bad” cholesterol in the body and increase the risk of cholesterol buildup in the arteries and heart attack. Mass-produced pastries, doughnuts, tub-margarines and fast foods tend to be laden in trans fats.
Americans are notable fatter than Canadians, yet the difference in wsn’t that far off. According to the U. S. Centers For Disease Control and Prevention, 24 percent of adults are obese in Canada, verses 34 percent in the U.S.
Should we rely on government mandates to cut unhealthy snacks from our diets? Is the threat of chronic health problems enough to spur people to adopt healthier eating habits?