Is she that fat?

Come on now, she is not that fat, is she?  The comments about her physical appearance have ranged from saying that she no longer has “taut abs” to that she has a “beer belly.”  True, she is not as taut as she once was, but she by no means has a beer belly.  She has had two kids, and is curvy.

Is she really that fat?  Now sure, she deserves a load of crap for that sort of performance she put on, but what kind of message is the media sending by deriding her for being so out of shape, when, she really isn’t all that bad…

America keeps getting fatter

In the latest Trust for America’s Health study, America’s obesity rate continues to creep higher. 31 states have seen an increase in obesity rates, while no states have shown any decline.

The rankings show a clear bias towards the South (guess the “Bible Belt” is adding on a few more inches) and Mid-West as the “belly fat” of the US. Will we ever see a reversal of this?

Rank	State	% of obese adults
1	Mississippi	30.6
2	West Virginia	29.8
3	Alabama	29.4
4	Louisiana	28.2
5	South Carolina	27.8
6	Tennessee	27.8
7	Kentucky	27.5
8	Arkansas	27
9	Indiana	26.8
10	Michigan	26.8
11	Oklahoma	26.8
12	Missouri	26.3
13	Texas	26.3
14	Georgia	26.1
15	Ohio	26
16	Alaska	25.8
17	North Carolina	25.6
18	Nebraska	25.4
19	North Dakota	25.1
20	Iowa	24.9
21	South Dakota	24.9
22	Wisconsin	24.8
23	Pennsylvania	24.5
24	Virginia	24.5
25	Illinois	24.4
26	Maryland	24.4
27	Kansas	24.3
28	Minnesota	23.7
29	Delaware	23.6
30	Oregon	23.3
31	Idaho	23.2
32	Washingon	23.2
33	Maine	23
34	Florida	22.9
35	Wyoming	22.8
36	California	22.7
37	Nevada	22.5
38	New Hampshire	22.4
39	New York	22.4
40	New Jersey	22.2
41	New Mexico	22
42	Arizona	21.7
43	Utah	21.1
44	Montana	20.7
45	Rhode Island	20.5
46	Connecticut	20.1
47	Hawaii	20.1
48	Vermont	20
49	Massachusetts	19.8
50	Colorado	17.6

Dieting too young

Ingraining the notion of “dieting” into young children is a dubious notion.  First and foremost, teaching children to “diet” (i.e. monitor what they eat and make sure that it is all low fat or low calorie) creates a complex that they will carry on into adulthood.  Second, it also tends to signify that “dieting” = healthy, and that is not at all the case.

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