Georgia doubles number of fat people

Americans aren’t tightening their belts amid these difficult economic times, they’re just buying sweat pants.

Even our pets are portly.

“Twelve states now have obesity rates above 30 percent. Four years ago, only one state was above 30 percent,” states a report entitled “F as in Fat” by Trust for America’s Health.

Further evidence that Southern moms cook best: “The obesity epidemic continues to be most dramatic in the South, which includes nine of the 10 states with the highest adult obesity rates.”

Georgia adults are fairly slim compared to our Deep (Fried) South brethren, we’re ranked No. 17 with 28.7 percent of us considered obese, or 30 pounds or more overweight.

We used to be a lot healthier: “Fifteen years ago, Georgia had an obesity rate of 13.8 percent and was ranked 34th most obese state in the nation. The obesity rate in Georgia doubled over the last 15 years.”

“Diabetes rates have doubled in ten states including Georgia in the past 15 years. In 1995, Georgia had a diabetes rate of 4.2 percent. Now the diabetes rate is 9.7 percent.”

I blame the children, who I’ve seen put Coca-Cola in their breakfast cereal and sit on the couch playing video games instead of learning a decent changeup or even a palmball.

Or is it the parents?

Here’s some more interesting tidbits from the report:

• Nearly 33 percent of adults who did not graduate high school in Georgia are obese compared with 21.5 percent of adults who graduated from college or a technical college.
• More than 33 percent of adults who earn less than $15,000 per year in Georgia were obese compared with 24.6 percent of adults who earn $50,000 or more per year.
• 21.3 percent of children and adolescents (ages 10 – 17) in Georgia are considered obese, second only to Mississippi.
• In 1995, no state had an obesity rate above 20 percent. Now, all but one, Colorado, does.

Top 10 most obese states:

1. Mississippi (34.4%)

2. Alabama (32.3%)

3. West Virginia (32.2%)

4. Tennessee (31.9%)

5. Louisiana (31.6%)

6. Kentucky (31.5%)

7. Oklahoma (31.4%)

8. South Carolina (30.9%)

9. Arkansas (30.6%)

10. Michigan (30.5%)