12 STATES NOW HAVE HIGH OBESITY; MISSISSIPPI NO. 1

[xchrom]

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_MED_OBESITY_RATES_STATES?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-08-13-12-03-47

ATLANTA (AP) -- A new government survey shows 12 states now have very high obesity rates.

Overall, more than a third of adults are obese but rates vary by state. The latest figures are based on a 2011 telephone survey that asked adults their height and weight. For the first time, households with only cell phones were included.

State rates remained about the same although states with very high rates went from nine to 12. At least 30 percent of adults are obese in Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas and West Virginia.

Colorado was lowest, at just under 21 percent, and Mississippi was highest at nearly 36 percent.

[get the red out]

1. It is shocking

I work at a university in one of the high obesity rate states, and recently a lot of old pictures of various activities around campus were put up on the walls on our floor of the building. These are really cool and offer an insight into history, but what is shocking is the absence of obese people. There are none, zero, whether it be students, professors, staff, the public; the worst you see would be considered a bit heavy now. This is the complete opposite from what you encounter just walking out the door now. Student seating even has to be bought larger in design now when old seating is replaced. There are many students that just don't fit comfortably into the seats we took for granted 30 years ago.

This change has hit us fast, much faster than genetics can account for I think. When I see old film footage from the 1970's even, it is strange how thin everyone looks.

[PotatoChip]

5. Along that same line of thought-

I remember feeling sorry for a boy in my elementary school who used to get picked on/bullied for being "fat". This would have been the early 70's. We moved from that area when I was in 6th grade, but I can still picture that poor boy in my memories.

I bet if a child of his exact same size were to be in elementary school now, he might be seen as being 'slightly overweight' or 'chubby' in comparison w/the other children.

I agree w/you that there is probably much more going on here than genetics alone. Likely a combination of a number of factors.

[rfranklin]

2. At last! They're number one in something...MS is a Republican paradise...

LAST AGAIN — Mississippi ranked No. 50 in latest reading and math scores
http://msbusiness.com/editorsnotebook/2011/11/01/last-again-%E2%80%94-mississippi-ranked-no-50-in-latest-reading-and-math-scores/

Mississippi ranks last in building codes study of hurricane-prone states
http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-news/2012/03/mississippi_ranks_last_in_buil.html

Last
Economy > Median Family Income
Economy > Nest Egg Index
Education > Assessments > % of Students Above Advanced > Grade 8 Math
Education > Percent of People Who Have Completed High School (Including Equivalency)
Health > Oral health > Visits to the dentist
Lifestyle > Best States to Live
Lifestyle > Children Ages 0-5 Who Are Read To Every Day, Percentage
Presidential Elections > 2004 > Popular Votes for Ralph Nader (per capita)
Transportation > Public Transportation > Federal funding, 1995 (per capita)
Transportation > Seat Belt Use
http://www.statemaster.com/state/ms/Bottom-Rankings

The primary reason for our recurrent last place ranking is poverty. According to Kids Count, 33% of Mississippi's children live in poverty.

Most experts agree that improving our educational system is crucial for ending the cycle of poverty in Mississippi. And yet, our politicians seem far more interested in pandering to conservative religious voters. This is explains why abortion bans and anti-immigrant legislation always seem to take priority over education. It also explains why we have one of the most regressive tax systems in the country, actually taxing groceries.
http://www.redstateprogressive.com/2012/07/mississippi-ranks-last-in-child-welfare.html

[hedgehog]

3. We have the potential for a natural experiment here -

Find the five states with the highest obesity rates, the five states with the lowest, and study and compare the hell out of them!

[unc70]

4. Start by looking for adenovirus-36

It is only one part of the proem, but a really big and important one, especially for morbid obesity.

[PotatoChip]

6. Hmmm. Interesting.

You may be onto something. I had never heard of it, so I did a google search. Here is what Wiki had to say fwiw: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adenovirus_serotype_36

As you point out, probably not an only factor, but may very well play a role. As someone else in this thread mentioned, populations in states with high obesity numbers vs states w/low(er) ones would make for an interesting study. Such a study would hopefully include testing for Ad-36 antibodies.

[get the red out]

7. That is interesting

But I found a site that discussed how easy this is to catch, so I would assume most of us have been exposed. What would be the difference then between my sister and I? I maintain a normal weight and she has a hell of a time losing weight and is probably in the "obese" category (though not morbidly so). I always just figured it was because I am an avid walker and have been for years, because she certainly doesn't eat as much as I do and never has.

Could it come down to some people's immune systems being better at fighting this bug than others? I hardly ever catch cold, my sister is nearly always trying to fight one off.

[unc70]

8. Related cell biology research is interesting

First, a caution. Research involving nutrition, diet, "eating disorders", weight, exercise, etc. is fraught with political, moralistic, egotistical, and financial distortion. The weight loss, diet, and exercise "industrial complex" is a huge business.

There is also a tendency on all sides to blame the victims, greedy corporations, advertising, racial and regional stereotypes, and almost anyone handing. The fact that we describe the field as "eating disorders" is in itself judgmental.

The caution with ad-36 as a contributor to obesity is that those threatened by that possibility are clinging to any fragment of research that might undermine ad-36 being involved.

The cell biology research is making key inroads in discovering just how the virus disrupts things like lipids control, why more and larger fat cells, etc. Associated with virus exposure are unusual patterns of diabetes and cholesterol, even for many of those not obese.

Unfortunately, ad-36 as even a contributor to be studied is not part of the public policy discussion, with very few exceptions.

I have posted extensively on the virus and on other related topics, both here and elsewhere as "unc70".

[PotatoChip]

9. I don't know the answer to either of these good questions.

But that first one is something I've wondered about myself for a great many years. I too have a sister who is obese, while my other siblings and I have maintained a normal weight range all of our lives. Until about age 10, she was no different from the rest of us, but something (?) changed after that. By the time she was in her mid-teens, she would have already fallen into the obese category- (based on BMI charts I have seen over the years). And like your sister, she didn't then (and doesn't now) appear to be an overeater. She has always been more sedentary though.

I really don't know why, but I'm assuming that there are a large number of factors. Perhaps your point about some people's immune systems being better then others at fighting off this bug may be one of them?