In Canada we get a lot of stories in the news about obesity in the US and sometimes I thing that we look at ourselves as immune to the obesity issue. Of course that is not at all true and bad habits in the US are the same as the bad habits in Canada. While many people look at the magic BMI number of 30 as the divider of obese or not (I of course hate the whole BMI numbering) I found this article in the Calgary Herald newspaper here in Canada.

According to the 2004 Canadian Community Health Survey, 2.7 per cent of the population had “class III” obesity, meaning a BMI of 40 or more. But Padwal and others believe the prevalence of extreme obesity is now closer to four or five per cent, or about 1.5 million Canadians who are severely obese. Read the rest of this entry »

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It is no big story that obesity rates are rising in the US but there are new numbers out, and reccomendations from The Trust for America’s Health.

The gravy train — make that the sausage, biscuits and gravy train — just kept on rolling in most of America last year, with 31 states showing an increase in obesity.

Mississippi continued to lead the way. An estimated 29.5 percent of adults there are considered obese. That is an increase of 1.1 percentage points when compared with last year’s report, which is compiled by Trust for America’s Health, an advocacy group that promotes increased funding for public health programs.

Meanwhile, Colorado remains the leanest state. About 16.9 percent of its adults are considered obese. That mark was also up slightly from last year’s report, but not enough to be considered statistically significant.

The only state that experienced a decrease in the percentage of obese adults last year was Nevada.

“Quick fixes and limited government programs have failed to stem the tide,” said Dr. Jeff Levi, executive director of the trust, in explaining the rise.

Health officials warn that the incidence of obesity in a particular state doesn’t mean it treats the issue less seriously than others. States have different challenges to contend with when it comes to obesity, said Dr. Janet Collins of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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