Kansas City and Missouri: Getting respect (sort of)

Two new surveys are out today--one on cities to visit in the Summer and one on obesity in the US. Good news, too, on both (mostly). Kansas City ranks 17th for cities to visit in the Summer Hey, it could be worse, right? Besides, rather ignorantly, they don't even mention our art galleries, theater or restaurants, as attractions. And Missouri isn't in the top 10 for most obese states in the US. (Unfortunately, we are number 12. Oops. Kansas is only marginally better at 16. Come on, people.) Yeehaw! Both are good news, as I said, I think. Unfortunately for America, however, the obesity rankings show that it--obesity--has jumped up in 28 states, including Missouri, Kansas and too many surrounding states: "More than two-thirds of states now have adult obesity rates above 25 percent," Jeff Levi, executive director of the Trust for America's Health, said during a Tuesday news conference. "Back in 1991, not that long ago, not a single state had an obesity rate above 20 percent. There's been a dramatic change in a relatively short period." "Obesity is one of the biggest public health crises in the country," Levi added. "Rising rates of obesity over past decades is one of the major factors behind skyrocketing health care costs in the U.S., one-quarter of which are related to obesity." Mississippi weighed in for the sixth year in a row as the fattest state, with 33.8 percent of its adults obese, while Alabama and Tennessee tied for second (31.6 percent). The other top 10, also concentrated in the south, were West Virginia, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Arkansas, South Carolina and Michigan tying with North Carolina for 10th place (29.4 percent). The healthiest states in terms of weight were congregated in the Northeast and West. In addition to geographic and economic differences, this year's report also focused on racial and ethnic disparities, finding that blacks and Latinos bear the brunt of the obesity problem. Blacks and Latinos outweighed whites in at least 40 states plus D.C. Important stuff to know. Now, for solutions. Link to the original report on obesity here: http://healthyamericans.org/reports/obesity2010/Obesity2010Report.pdf