In my last post, I wrote about big tobacco companies buying big food companies, making food addictive, and targeting your children. They have been wildly successful as evidenced by ever increasing rates of obesity and related chronic diseases. “In 22 states, 35% or more of adults have obesity, compared to 19 states in 2021, according to new CDC population data. Just a decade ago, no state had an adult obesity prevalence at or above 35%.”
These maps from 2022 show that obesity impacts some groups more than others. Disadvantaged groups are hit the hardest. The number of American states or territories where of 35% or more are obese by race/ethnicity, is:
American Indian or Alaska Native adults: 33 (among 47 states)
Asian adults: 0 (among 37 states, 1 territory, and DC)
Black adults: 38 (among 48 states and DC)
Hispanic adults: 32 (among 49 states, 2 territories, and DC)
White adults: 14 (among 49 states, 1 territory, and DC)
The level of household income is an extremely powerful predictor of obesity rates.
Here is the rank by income. The District of Columbia (1), California (5), Colorado (9), New Jersey (3), Massachusetts (2), and Vermont (16) are the areas with the lowest rates of obesity (less than 25%). The household income rank is in parentheses beside the geographic entity. Louisiana (48), Oklahoma (43), and West Virginia (49) have obesity rates of over 40%. The most prosperous states have the lowest levels of obesity. The poorest states have the highest rates. This observation makes perfect sense. Families that are struggling financially cannot afford healthier food and they must work hard just to survive. They don’t have the time or money to prepare healthier foods. It is especially offensive that large American corporations are taking advantage of these people and targeting their children with ads for addictive food. Use your voice to demand an end to ads for addictive foods that target children. That can be accomplished quickly for almost nothing. It would actually save money that could be used for healthier food options for these people.
There are also broader cultural issues. A few years ago, I visited family members in coastal California. We ate out several times. In the Southeastern United States, bread comes to the table at the beginning of the meal automatically. That was one notable difference. Bread was not included in the the meal unless you asked for it in California. Right away I noticed the number of obese patients was much lower in those restaurants also.
This is such important information. I think of passengers on the two cruises, I was on recently. There were so many fat and obese people, needing wheelchairs to get around, and filling their plates with mounds of food. It was disheartening to observe. These were not necessarily older adults but a cross section of ages.
I watched a PBS program recently about the school busing crisis in Boston in the 70’s. A sad commentary on the moment. The old videos showed thousands of young people, parents, and even police in the streets at one time. I saw hardly any overweight people among all those groups. Very, very few. Kids milling around outside the schools were all trim. Not at all like I see kids out around today. My own grandkid at 17 is overweight, along with most of our family. My siblings are mostly normalish weight but our kids are not. My daughter started putting on pounds in the 90’s when junk food exploded along with the low-fat craze that just added more sugar and additives to a fast corrupted food supply. She’s now had gastric sleeve operation and has lost 111 pounds. Her health markers are better but at what future cost. Just a mothers worry. I have given her a heads up on the blockage issue you discussed a while back. Thanks for your posts.