OBESITY A CONCERNED CHAPTER IN U.S HEALTH DIARY

In a new report found, every state in the U.S has an obesity rate over 20%- and many are well over that.

The “State of Obesity” report, published by the Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, found that the U.S. adult obesity rate remained high in 2014 and 23 out of the 25 states with the highest rates are in the South or Midwest.

Statistically Minnesota is one of the only five states with an increase in adult obesity at a time when the nation’s obesity epidemic finally seems to be leveling off.

The percentage comes to pass at 27.6 percent raise in obesity threatening millions of dollars of investments in walking paths, farmers markets and other strategies to “make the healthy choice the easy choice.” conferred the state health officials.

The following report also underlines racial differences among obese adults nationwide. Overall, adult obesity rates in the U.S. are 38% higher among black people compared to white people and 26% higher among Latinos compared to white people. The report shows that in 14 states the obesity rate among black men and women is at or above 40%.

The rates also increase with age, with a rate of 30% among 20-to-39-year-olds and close to 40% among 40-to-59-year-old adults.

What’s become the typical Western diet—frequent, large meals high in refined grains, red meat, unhealthy fats, and sugary drinks—plays one of the largest roles in obesity. Foods that are lacking in the Western diet—whole grains, vegetables, fruits, and nuts—seem to help with weight control, and also help prevent chronic disease.

Unfortunately, in the U.S. and increasingly around the globe, this environment has become toxic to healthy living: The incessant and unavoidable marketing of unhealthy foods and sugary drinks. The junk food sold at school, at work, and at the corner store. Add it up, and it’s tough for individuals to make the healthy choices that are so important to a good quality of life and a healthy weight.

The easiest path to reducing adult obesity is instilling healthy habits in today’s youth, said Abbey Cofsky, of Robert Wood Johnson, which in February committed $500 million over the next 10 years to preventing childhood obesity.

That includes a campaign against sugary beverages for preschoolers, she said. “There’s no reason for toddlers to be drinking sugary drinks.”

Whether targeting youth or adults, Ehlinger said evidence shows Minnesota’s strategies are working. A state report this spring estimated $265 million in reduced medical costs from 2010 to 2013 in Minnesota due to obesity prevention efforts.

“If we had not implemented SHIP, if we had followed the course we were on in 2008, we would be near the top of the list in terms of being bad on obesity,” Ehlinger said.