I have no idea why the south is the fattest area in the nation. The south has the mildest weather, compared with, say Boston, where I live. So the population has more opportunities to be outside and moving around: running, walking, playing sports. I don't know why this area of the country has this problem. But I hope the people begin to address this issue.
Huntington, W.Va., home to highest percentage of obese; also tops in diabetes, loss of teeth
By MIKE STOBBE Associated Press 6 hours, 30 minutes ago in Science & Health
As a portly woman plodded ahead of him on the sidewalk, the obese mayor of America's fattest and unhealthiest city explained why health is not a big local issue.
By MIKE STOBBE Associated Press 6 hours, 30 minutes ago in Science & Health
As a portly woman plodded ahead of him on the sidewalk, the obese mayor of America's fattest and unhealthiest city explained why health is not a big local issue.
"It doesn't come up," said David Felinton, 5-foot-9 and 233 pounds, as he walked toward City Hall one recent morning. "We've got a lot of economic challenges here in Huntington. That's usually the focus."
Huntington's economy has withered, its poverty rate is worse than the national average, and vagrants haunt a downtown riverfront park. But this city's financial woes are not nearly as bad as its health.
Nearly half the adults in Huntington's five-county metropolitan area are obese _ an astounding percentage, far bigger than the national average in a country with a well-known weight problem.
Huntington leads in a half-dozen other illness measures, too, including heart disease and diabetes. It's even tops in the percentage of elderly people who have lost all their teeth (half of them have).
Huntington leads in a half-dozen other illness measures, too, including heart disease and diabetes. It's even tops in the percentage of elderly people who have lost all their teeth (half of them have).
It's a sad situation, and a potential harbinger of what will happen to other U.S. communities, said Ken Thorpe, an Emory University health policy professor who is working with West Virginia officials on health reform legislation.
"They may be at the very top, but obesity and diabetes trends are very similar" in many other communities, particularly in the South, Thorpe said.
The Huntington area's health problems, cited in a U.S. health report, are a terrible distinction for the city, but the locals barely talk about it. Many don't even know how poorly the city ranks.
Culture and history are at least part of the problem, health officials say.
The Huntington area's health problems, cited in a U.S. health report, are a terrible distinction for the city, but the locals barely talk about it. Many don't even know how poorly the city ranks.
Culture and history are at least part of the problem, health officials say.
The rest of the story is here.
6 comments:
Shaw, how about fried foods? Add that to the general lack of exercise for most Americans and you have a recipe for disaster.
I would also wonder if we are seeing more obesity in poorer areas due to the fact that healthier food costs more than a box of hamburger helper or the $5.99 eight piece fried chicken dinner available at most grocery stores in the country. [it certainly is one of my sons favorites when he is short on $$$$$]
I wonder if it has to do with all of those Sonic's they have down there.
Healthier food, dave, does not cost a lot. I grew up in an Italian family where very healthy meals were prepared using low-cost items: beans, fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts, pasta, chicken, beef, fish, eggs, cheese, olive oil, etc.
What my mother, grandmother and aunts did was prepare food from scratch. No processed food. And very little canned.
You don't have to be wealthy to eat healthy.
We certainly weren't wealthy.
But we ate very, very well. And no one in our family was fat. In fact, I was teased for being too thin.
I cook from scratch every day. No processed food, no take-out.
Here's a quick recipe for making incredibly delicious low-fat, economical chicken wings:
Wash and pat dry 12 chicken wings.
Put 1 cup of flour into a plastic or paper bag.
Add 1 1/2 tsps. salt, pepper and good quality paprika to flour.
Place cleaned, washed and dried chicken wings into bag.
close bag and shake until wings are totally covered in seasoned flour.
Place chicken wings (do not shake off flour) on lightly oiled cookie sheet or bottom of broiler pan.
Bake for 1/2 hour at 375 degrees.
Turn wings over and bake for another 1/2 hour.
These wings will look and taste just like fried wings.
Delicious. Not fried. Baked. Golden and very, very tasty.
More recipes to come.
dmarks,
I think too much fast food is not good for our diets.
I actually make "fast food" at home.
I can throw together a healthy meal in 20 minutes.
That's fast. And I don't have to use gas to get the the fast food restaurant.
Obesity comes down to sheer laziness and no personal responsibility. But with the chaos of modern life, common sense and some activity will solve the issues.
I've watched some of the shows on TLC where they have the insanely obese. And behind these people are others that enable them to take up a king-sized bed.
I technically fall in the overweight category myself (by bmi, I bet, not shape). I know that 10 more pounds would start to affect me negatively (been there, weighed that). And you'd think people would have sense.
However, a couple of things come to mind.
If I haul the younglings off to McDonalds, we can eat in for $9.40, I don't have to scramble about, and they get a toy each. I keep that to a once-a-week thing, though.
And if it can be cooked in 5-10 minutes with little attention (quick fried or out of a box) it saves me time and sanity. Especially when one of them is so picky, he'll only eat 3-4 things.
The wings sound pretty good. Now what would happen if I added my wing sauce :
(all amounts are guesses as I don't measure)
1/2 stick of butter (the real stuff)
2-3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp kosher or seasoned salt
2 tbsp good vinegar
1 tbsp molasses
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
add whatever heat you have until it's hot enough for you (anything will work here)
Melt the butter, mix, throw wings in, and shake to coat.
Then eat and damage internal organs!
(oh, I don't eat wings this way that often)
There are lots of things you can make without a lot of excess calories, but a walk around the block, with a nice talk, is probably more to the point.
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