Columns, Opinion

HOFBERG: Weighty Statistics

Congratulations Mississippi and West Virginia! According to the Trust For America’s Health Report that came out on Sept. 4 about the state of obesity in the United States, you are the fattest states in the nation with adult obesity rates reaching a whopping 35.1 percent!

But hold up. Don’t slice yourself an extra big piece of self-congratulatory chocolate cake just yet, because the rest of the United States is not far behind you.

The statistics in the report that were released by the non-profit, non-partisan organization are disturbing, to say the least. In 2014, there isn’t a state in the union that has an adult obesity rate less than 20 percent, and 20 states are at, or above, an adult obesity rate of 30 percent. If we continue at this rate, the report says we can expect 50 percent of our population to be obese by 2030.

I wish I could say I’m surprised, but actually, I’m mostly just disgusted.

Forget Ebola. The obesity epidemic is one of the country’s most serious health problems, and frankly, it infuriates me. But if the statistics about weight trends in this country don’t horrify you, let me spew some more fun facts your way.

Did you know that adult obesity rates in the United States have doubled since 1980, from 15 to 30 percent? And adults aren’t the only ones having problems squeezing into their skinny jeans. Did you know that childhood obesity rates have more than tripled since 1980? Or did you know that 5 percent of 6 to 11-year-old children are severely obese and that more than 1 in 10 children become obese as early as ages 2 to 5? Sadly, it’s true.

Perhaps what’s more disappointing to me than the grossly increasing average size of our midsections is this new perception of what’s normal and healthy, in terms of body weight, that seems to be emerging in this country. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the average American is 23 pounds heavier than his or her ideal body weight. And a 2011 survey by Russell Research, commissioned by Pollock Communications, found that of the 67 percent of Americans who are overweight or obese, astonishingly, only 52 percent believe that they have an issue with their weight.

Now that the average body weight tends toward swollen rather than svelte, too many people are dismissing the hefty number that the scale reads because they see others around them looking as wide as they are. This twisted and seriously distorted view of what healthy bodies should actually look like is making us a nation that is virtually numb to the harsh truths and consequences about the growing obesity epidemic.

Consequences? Yeah. Consequences. And big ones, no pun intended, at that.

I’m just curious. Would you think twice about eating that entire carton of Ben & Jerry’s Half Baked ice cream yourself in one sitting if you knew that rising obesity rates contribute to the increased rates of more than 30 serious diseases, including heart disease, arthritis and diabetes? The maddening thing is that statistics say that you probably wouldn’t.

What really frightens me is how much money Americans are spending on obesity related illnesses. Today, more than one-quarter of health costs in the United States are related to obesity. By one estimate from the American Heart Association, the United States spent $147 billion on obesity-related health care expenses in 2008. That accounts for almost 10 percent of medical spending, and, if trends continue at this rate, the cost of obesity could reach 18 percent by 2030. Good god.

As someone who used to be somewhat overweight herself, let me set the record straight by saying that I am not so much advocating a thinner society as much as I’m urging one that is healthier. There’s a difference.

I understand very well that when we talk about our own personal weights, body mass index, body types and genetics are all factors that need to be considered. I’m not trying to suggest, in the slightest, that anyone aspire to look as skeletal as Kate Moss, because being too thin is just as unhealthy as not being thin enough. What I am saying is that in America, where the majority of individuals need to lose weight to be healthier, we’ve made it too easy and comfortable to live large. Clothes made out of stretchy materials and “size inflation,” inexpensive and convenient fast food options, excessively large soda cups, bigger portions and wider seats in movie theaters and cars are just some of the ways that our society has engrained in its mentality that it’s okay to be not just overweight, but obese.

So what do we do? First of all, we substitute that large Coke for a glass of ice water and that Big Mac for a big salad. Then, we start seeing this report as a rude awakening. This epidemic isn’t going to turn itself around. Come on you guys. If we have time to binge watch episodes of “Orange Is The New Black” on Netflix, then certainly, we have the time to get our asses in shape.

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