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Friday, February 11, 2011

Kansas and Missouri, No.'s 3 and 4 on "States with the Deadliest Eating Habits"?

Yikes.

Mississippi, on this list, I guessed.  I thought sure neither Missouri nor Kansas would be on it but there we are:

10 States With the Deadliest Eating Habits

4. Kansas

Grocery Stores Per 1,000 Residents: 0.35 (7th)
Amount Spent on Fast Food Per Capita: $610 (19th least)
Gallons of Soft Drinks Purchased Per Capita: 64 (23rd most)
Pounds of Sweet Snacks Purchased Per Capita: 121 (12th most)

Kansas has some of the easiest access (seventh-best) to stores where cheap and healthy food is available. It is clear, however, that most residents do not take advantage of this, as the state has one of the worst diets in the country. Residents consume the 12th-most sweet snacks per person as well as the 12th-most solid fats -- more than 20 pounds per person. The state ranks 28th in adult diabetes and 31st in obesity -- 28% of the state's adults are considered overweight.

3. Missouri

Grocery Stores Per 1,000 Residents: 0.26 (22nd)
Amount Spent on Fast Food Per Capita: $623 (21st least)
Gallons of Soft Drinks Purchased Per Capita: 65 (18th highest)
Pounds of Sweet Snacks Purchased Per Capita: 121 (17th most)

Missouri does not rank especially poor in any of the metrics considered, however it does rank badly in about almost every one. It has the 11th-lowest rates of adults eating the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables, the eighth-greatest rate of food insecurity, and relatively high rates of soft drink, sweet snack and solid fats consumption. Missouri has the ninth-worst rate of obesity among adults, with 30% having a body mass index greater than 30.

And only Alabama (at no. 2) and Mississippi are worse, for pity's sake.  I can hardly believe this. 

Additionally, so you know it's not some bogus, trumped-up Forbes Magazine article that's putting this out, it's from the "Recent data reported in medical journal Lancet" and it "showed that BMI (Body Mass Index), a recognized measurement of obesity, is higher on average in America than in any other nation."

Note, too, that it's not just an obesity ranking, it's the "deadliest eating habits" And from a medical journal.  Yow.

Not a good list to be one, by a long shot, eh, folks?

Pass the popcorn.

...and butter, while you're at it.

Link to original post:  http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/112083/10-states-with-the-deadliest-eating-habits

2 comments:

rbbrfish said...

Right after moving here, my health insurance went up by 219%. I'm now paying over three times what I was...with less coverage. Part of this was because of a change in networks (same insurance company, different negotiated networks), but as the lady on the phone at the company said when I phone to express my anger and outrage, "Sir, You're now living in an area with higher health risks." Looking at the waistlines back here, I can see her point. Guilt by proximity.

Mo Rage said...

yes, and isn't that horrible? disgusting? frustrating? discouraging?

yikes.

what's a healthier person supposed to do?

Move elsewhere I guess.