Changing the shape of America

There’s an obvious reason why food labeling in restaurants, specifically calorie counts, has become a hot topic.

Whether it’s because of new, more fattening foods, a less active lifestyle, more compulsive eating habits, or a mixture of the three, people are fatter than ever. It is a problem affecting health care costs, and to some degree, peoples’ ability to live healthy, productive lives. Shocking statistical evidence from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

The pale blue areas that were common in 1986 indicate states that have a measured obesity rate that is 1 in 10 people. Each jump in color adds another 5% to the obese population. When a state turns orange, the obesity rate exceeds 25% of the population. Red is 30%. Even the states that were “thin” in 1986 are fat today.

Obesity has been called a national epidemic.