Sunday, February 13, 2011

States with deadliest eating habits - Missouri #3

Americans are fat and getting fatter by the year. Recent data reported in medical journal Lancet showed that BMI (Body Mass Index), a recognized measurement of obesity, is higher on average in America than in any other nation.

The obesity problem, however, is international. The report in Lancet states that "In 2008, 9.8 percent of the world's male population were obese, as were 13.8 percent of women. In 1980, these rates were 4.8 percent and 7.9 percent." U.S. eating habits and diets have been exported, many experts say. Nations which before had relatively lean diets which were high in grains and fruits now consume many more soft drinks and hamburgers.

This trend toward poorer diets has caused obesity to be the most written-about health problem in the United States.

Missouri Ranks #3 on the list

> Grocery Stores Per 1,000 Residents: 0.26 (22nd)

> Amount Spent on Fast Food Per Capita: $623 (21st least)

> Gallons of Soft Drinks Purchased Per Capita: 65 (18th highest)

> Pounds of Sweet Snacks Purchased Per Capita: 121 (17th most)

Missouri does not rank especially poor in any of the metrics considered, however it does rank badly in about almost every one. It has the 11th-lowest rates of adults eating the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables, the eighth-greatest rate of food insecurity, and relatively high rates of soft drink, sweet snack and solid fats consumption. Missouri has the ninth-worst rate of obesity among adults, with 30% having a body mass index greater than 30.

Which two states were worse than Missouri?  Click here to find out. http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/112083/10-states-with-the-deadliest-eating-habits

2 comments:

  1. Anonymous2:21 PM

    With regard to body mass index, don’t ever tell a physicist that mass and weight; weight is used in the BMI calculation; are the same thing. If you include the units, weight in pounds and height in inches squared, the quantity you get is pounds per square inc which is a measure of pressure.
    What these health nuts that want to dictate what we should and shouldn’t eat, California has a law against the use of transfats in restaurants, need to focus on is the main cause of death in the U. S; smoking. Smoking is not only harmful to those who smoke but their secondhand smoke is harmful to those around them. Did anyone ever hear of anybody dying from the effects of second hand transfat? How about secondhand not eating enough fruits, vegetables, and whole grains?

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  2. Anonymous4:11 PM

    Is anyone else out there fed up with the government and activists getting involved in our personal affairs? They get involved in telling us we must by health insurance even if our religious beliefs say we don’t go to doctors. Can we get conscientious objector status on that? They tell us who must pick up our trash. They tell us what we should and shouldn’t eat. What next? Are they going to stick their nose into our bedrooms and tell us we’re not doing it right?

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