The seventh annual "F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America's Future 2010" is, first of all, apparently an R as in Real thing. But moreover, the study revealed that Florida's adult obesity rate is 25.1 percent, making us the 36th most obese state in Americaland.
It's been a decade since I last took a meaningful look at the U.S. map, but I'm assuming there are still 50 states, plus D.C. My geography teacher was a boozer (Wellington Landings what what), so I could be wrong. But 36th most obese state sounds a lot like "16th fittest tract of land" to me. Maybe even "16th sveltest," "16th sexiest," you know, what have you.
Sponsored by Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood
Johnson Foundation, the research also says Florida men pull an obesity
rate of 27.6 percent, making them heavier than the women-folk.
Ten
of the 11 most obese states were in the South, with Mississippi
breaking the scale for the sixth year in a row at 33.8 percent. As if
we needed further proof that Florida was not the South, but rather Cuba
2 or the sixth borough of New York.
We do have a problem though,
and unsurprisingly, it's the children. Last year's report said 18
percent of Florida kids aged 10 to 17 were obese, making us 13th for
childhood obesity. This is strange, because this year's report (which
did not have updated figures) lauded Florida for setting "nutritional
standards for school lunches, breakfasts, and snacks that are stricter
than current United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
requirements."
So the problem must be at home. Are you staying
fit by dumping that extra serving of gravy cake on junior's plate?
Please stop. We don't want to be Mississippi.
