The Obesity Map of America Released

The best way to reduce your risk for obesity, prevent obesity, or get your obesity under control is to exercise regularly, eating a healthy diet, knowing your triggers that make you want to eat more than you should, checking your weight on a regular basis, and learning how to live a healthy lifestyle that lasts for the rest of your life instead of just temporarily. But now staggering new statistics about the obesity rates in America by state have been released. Read on. 

Obesity and diabetes rates are on the rise, as a result of metabolic syndrome, which affects 1 in 3 Americans. Metabolic syndrome is a collection of conditions that together increase the risk of heart disease and stroke.  These conditions that make up metabolic syndrome are high blood pressure, diabetes or high blood sugar, excess abdominal fat around the waist, and high cholesterol.  When all these occur together or in some combination, the more you have the more your risk increases, the chance of developing other serious health conditions also increases.  

States in the South and Midwest are where the highest rates of obesity currently are. Arkansas, North Dakota, West Virginia and Indiana. Over 22 states have obesity rates that are more than 30%! That is a massively huge number. The report was published from the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation and Trust for America's Health.  See where your state lives on the obesity map here. 

Facts About Obesity

Obesity is an extremely common problem in the United States, and all over the world. It is estimated that more than one-third of adults (72 million people) and 17 percent of children in the United States are obese. The most common causes of obesity include a lack of physical activity and eating an unhealthy diet. Obesity-related conditions include heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer. These are some of the leading causes of preventable death.

Some key statistics about obesity:

·       More than 1 in 3 Americans (35.7 percent) are obese

·       More than two-thirds (68.8 percent) of adults in the United States areoverweight or obese

·       Almost 3 in 4 men (74 percent) are considered to be overweight or obese

·       Obesity by race:

o   47.8 percent - Non-Hispanic blacks

o   42.5 percent - Hispanics

o   32.6 percent - Non-Hispanic whites

o   10.8 percent - Non-Hispanic Asians

A person is considered obese when they have a body mass index (also known as BMI) of 30 or higher. The body mass index is an estimation of how much body fat a person has. How do you calculate body mass index? The body mass index is calculated by dividing your weight in kilograms by your height in meters squared. Here is a chart to understand what your body mass index means:

·       Below 18.5 - underweight

·       18.5-24.9 - normal

·       25.0-29.9 - overweight

·       30.0-34.9 - obese (Class I)

·       35.0-39.9 - obese (Class II)

·       40.0 and higher - extreme obesity (Class III)