Obesity has reached epidemic proportions in the United States. These increased body fat reserves are associated with an increased risk of numerous health problems, including coronary heart disease and heart attacks, diabetes mellitus, stroke, some cancers, and more. Obesity has become so prevalent in the U.S. today that it is difficult to remember that just a couple decades ago, the average American was not overweight, and few were obese. Below is a link to an animated graphic showing the remarkable increase in obesity in U.S. states over time. In the ideal case, the entire map would be colored the aqua color, since there would be data from every state but no obese people.
This is the first frame. See animated version.
As is commonly done, obesity is defined here based on the body-mass index (BMI). The BMI is calculated by dividing one’s weight by one’s height squared. It is traditionally given in SI units (that is, kg/m²), so if U.S. customary units are used, they must be converted. BMIs in the range from 18.5–25 kg/m² is considered normal or healthy. 25–30 kg/m² is overweight, and greater than or equal to 30 kg/m² is obese. (40 kg/m² or greater is often considered morbidly obese, or sometimes 35 kg/m² or greater along with other risk factors is included.) The use of BMI is imperfect (for instance, a very muscular person will have a high weight and therefore BMI), but in practice it is usually simple to differentiate obese from muscular people.
For instance, consider a 1.78-m (5 ft., 10 in.) tall person. The healthy range would be from 58.5–79.0 kg (129–174 lb.). Those weighing more than this would be overweight, and over 94.8 kg (209 lb.) would be obese. For a 1.63-m (5 ft., 4 in.) tall person, the healthy range would be from 47.4–64.0 kg (104–141 lb.). Greater than 76.8 kg (169 lb.) would be obese.
It’s easy to calculate your own BMI. There are plenty of BMI calculators and BMI charts on the Internet. But the fastest way is probably to use Google Calculator: just type your calculation directly into the main search box (see example).
The obesity data are taken from the CDC. I reformulated them into an animated GIF since I didn’t care for the original color scheme and also because that presentation isn’t easily exported to other sites. You are free to use the image (direct linking is fine), though I would appreciate a link back here if you do.
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My vision of a perfect world:
we are all walking or biking, eating mostly vegetarian, less processed food, less red meat, consuming less electronics, working within walking or biking distance from home, experiencing nature
how can we make it happen?
marguerite
http://lamarguerite.wordpress.com
Comment by lamarguerite — 19 November 2007 @ 04:49 UTC
Here is a great article about a person who was not obese, but suffered a stroke. The point being we all need to be the keeper of our own health and know the warning signs.
http://www.statesman.com/life/content/life/stories/health/11/18/1118marathonstroke.html
Comment by David Peters — 20 November 2007 @ 17:19 UTC
[...] weight, and be in better health, is the perfect example. Darmok just wrote a great post about the rising epidemic of obesity in America. And today’s San Francisco Chronicle features an article on new research from [...]
Pingback by Looking to Green Psychology for Some Global Warming Solutions « La Marguerite — 21 November 2007 @ 21:47 UTC
[...] of the trend to obesity in the United States, I direct you to see the CDC data from 1985-2006. And this site took that CDC data and made it into an animated GIF showing obesity rates over time. According to [...]
Pingback by Illiterate Withdrawal » Life Expectancy Is Dropping — 22 April 2008 @ 18:20 UTC
[...] Det finns i dag fler som är överviktiga än underviktiga i världen. USA är världsledande också på detta område, men trenden är den samma i hela världen om än inte lika snabb. Klicka på bilden för en animerad variant som visar utvecklingen mellan 1985 och 2006. Det som visas är andelen av befolkningen i de olika staterna som är feta, d v s har ett BMI på 30 eller över. Data är från CDC, och den förbättrade animeringen är från bloggen Ancora Imparo. [...]
Pingback by En allt fetare värld « Fatlies - FETA LÖGNER — 27 May 2008 @ 20:22 UTC
Being a nutrition major, I, too, want so many things for the coming generations. Things that will only benefit them…whose checking the cafeterias in school adn monitoring the foods the children ingest? Should this not be a major factor in the epidemic of obesity in not just adults, but the children.
My perfect world woudl include daily
)
exercise regimes,
healthful food from mother earth (non-conventionally grown
Little to no red meats and alternative sources of our Amino acids,mineral, and vitamins……..like plants
Comment by Cristl — 23 April 2009 @ 23:33 UTC