Everyday Systems

http://www.cdc.gov/dhdsp/maps/national_ ... ke_all.htm

Poor northern Alaska! Who would've thunk it? Wonder why Arizona does so much better? And parts of the northeast?

I have a feeling it's more content and not frequency that affects these rate.

http://www.cdc.gov/dhdsp/maps/national_ ... 65_all.htm

http://www.cdc.gov/dhdsp/maps/national_ ... on_all.htm

Looks like Nevada may not have as bad of rates of stroke, but they die of other CVD.

The southeast consistently ranks as the most obese, so that probably has something to do with it.

Yeah, I saw that. I visited Atlanta once and saw plenty of bi-i-i-ig people. But I see a fair number of them here in SoCal, too, though I guess it might just be my perception.

I guess it may not just be a stereotype that Southerners eat a lot of fried foods and other heavy stuff.

As someone who grew up in rural Kentucky, obesity is a result of poverty, to some extent. People are POOR.... Junk food is cheap. Food pantries hand out mac n. Cheese, cans of spaghettios,etc because they keep longeron the shelves. Of course lack of education plays in, but do you really need someone to tell you that fruits and vegetables are better than hot dogs and chips? It is easier to heat up a processed meal than to cook from scratch if you've never been shown how to prepare healthy whole foods. We do love our fried food,too!

I wish I could remember the researcher who said he thinks it would pay off in health care costs to simply give free vouchers for vegetables to vulnerable populations. One heart surgery is easily $80,000 with hospital and surgeon fees, no? Often more. Dat's a lotta broccoli.

But I've also read recently that simply adding veggies to the diet was not found to affect disease rates. Only cutting down on dense foods did that. Apparently, people don't automatically eat less dense food if they eat more veggies. Maybe that's because they allow themselves more than one plate!

The last couple years I believe Mississippi has ranked as the most obese, and Colorado as the least obese.