Americans continue to get fatter and it's delivering a huge blow to the country, both in higher health care costs and undercutting military recruiting, according to a huge new study.

The 14th annual State of Obesity: Better Policies for a Healthier America report from the Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation bluntly reported that 70 percent of the nation is obese or overweight.


And while the rate of obesity growth is leveling off, the costs aren't. The report, for example, said additional health care for obese adults and children is $150 billion a year and billions of dollars more in lost worker productivity.

It is also costly to the military, said the report. Nearly one-quarter of military recruits are rejected because they are obese and it costs the Pentagon $1 billion a year in added health care costs for obese troops and their families.

More stunning, said the comprehensive 101-page report: " 70 percent of today's youth are not fit to serve in the military due to obesity or being overweight, criminal records, drug misuse or educational deficits."


The report is filled with graphics and statistics showing that the epidemic is at a new high, though slowing. It also gives several recommendations to fight it.

It charts obesity in every state and found that West Virginia is at the top, with 37.7 percent obese. Colorado is at the bottom with 22 percent obese.

Some other key takeaways:

Nine of the 11 states with the highest obesity rates are in the South and 23 of the 25 states with the highest rates of obesity are in the South and Midwest.

Adult obesity rates have striking racial and ethnic inequities - with rates above 40 percent for blacks in 15 states, and rates at or above 35 percent among Latinos in nine states, compared with rates above 35 percent among whites in one state.

Obesity rates are around 30 percent higher among adults without a college education and with incomes below $15,000 compared with other adults.

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I know this is a serious problem for me. But in a very real sense the obesity is a side effect of an addiction to sugars and carbs. If I eat even a single piece of fruit, I do not stop.

Right now, through the grace of God, I am on the wagon. I pray I stay on the wagon. If I fall off, I really have no idea how to climb back on.

I have a few observations but I'm sure others can add to why we continue to face this epidemic:

- We still eat as though we do manual labor but for many of us (myself included) the heaviest lifting we do all day is probably our coffee mug.

- The restaurants serve enormous portions; my kids took me to the Cheesecake Factory and I was aghast: I could not find many items that have less than 1400 calories.

- Corn syrup in many things we consume.

- We don't take time to cook real food but we make time to watch our favorite TV shows every night.

Things have certainly changed. I can recall the school program during the 1950s that was deemed the President's physical fitness challenge. There were standards regarding number of pushups, situps etc. We used to joke that the standards were set extremely low, as pretty much every kid exceeded the minimum. The only challenge for most kids was the pullup requirement. The lanky kids could do those easily but it was harder for the rest of us. The standards at that time were pretty much equivalent to those required for entry into the Armed Forces.

I finally figured out that one should not eat like a lumberjack unless you are one.

After I lost the 50 lbs., I stopped getting calls to do Wilford Brimley's nude scenes.

Food additives are a major culprit in this epidemic.

quote:

After I lost the 50 lbs., I stopped getting calls to do Wilford Brimley's nude scenes.

Didn't he do the Cath commercials?

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Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:

quote:

After I lost the 50 lbs., I stopped getting calls to do Wilford Brimley's nude scenes.

Didn't he do the Cath commercials?

Da Beetus.....Check your blood sugar and check it often. There's no reason not to.

[quote]Da Beetus.....Check your blood sugar and check it often. There's no reason not to.
 
Thanks I get my old guys confused. I remember the Lorne Green commercials about how he dreaded hearing the ambulance sirens and wondering how much the ride was gonna cost. I guess there was life for him after Bonanza and his brief singing career.

In my elementary school days, we got a recess at midmorning, after lunch, and another before the last class of the day. During recess, kids were on the playground and moving around. Boys played cowboys and Indians, Yankees and Rebels, tackle run through, and touch football. Girls were playing jacks, hopscotch, and riding the merry go round. When we got home, we played outdoors a lot. Fat kids were few and far between.

What roustabout said.... When I was a kid, we were very active, both at school and home. My neighborhood was full of kids outdoors, even in winter. Now I drive around the local neighborhoods and no kids are visible. No activity. Our buses were actually stopping at each kids house so they did not have to walk anywhere. They are trying to stop that now but I bet it wont fly.
Now that I am in my 60s, its harder to lose weight. But I try to be as active as I can. Move it or lose it.

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Originally posted by roustabout:
In my elementary school days, we got a recess at midmorning, after lunch, and another before the last class of the day. During recess, kids were on the playground and moving around. Boys played cowboys and Indians, Yankees and Rebels, tackle run through, and touch football. Girls were playing jacks, hopscotch, and riding the merry go round. When we got home, we played outdoors a lot. Fat kids were few and far between.

Back then junk food was less accessible and most mothers stayed home and cooked healthy meals. Most women work now and don't have time to cook, plus you can't drive 20 feet without finding a taco bell, kfc, McDonalds, etc. It's a bad combination.

The access to food to MOST Americans is staggering. Mother , who is 93, tells me often , when she was growing up, you ate meals, and nothing in between, unless you went to the orchard during the summer and ate fruit.

There was no going to the kitchen every hour to eat something. Looking at old family pictures from her family, all were slim, but Mother grew up during the Depression.

Sweets are the big culprit, sugar laden food, even though its not a dessert or candy.

Age plays a large part on our metabolism, but when present day children's percentages of obesity get to what they are, then it is a serious health problem.

My French in laws are staggered by the portions in restaurants here. I remember taking them to a barbeque retaurant near here in one of their first visits. They commented that one plate would feed four in France.

There were fewer noticeably overweight people in France. Life overseas is much more active, walking etc, at least out in the rural areas.

Eliminate the corn subsidy and you will see a reduction in domestic waistlines. More to it, of course, but supply side economics greatly influences dietary choices.