Alabama second in obesity ranking – Times Daily

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Alabama and Mississippi have the second highest obesity rates in the nation according to an annual report released last week.

According to “The State of Obesity: Better Polices for a Healthier America,” 35.6 percent of adults in Alabama, Mississippi and West Virginia are classified as obese.

Colorado ranked as the least obese state with an adult obesity ranking of 20.2 percent.

Alabama’s obesity rank held steady from the 2015 ranking.

The report found nine of the top 11 states were from the South, and 22 of the top 25 highest obesity rankings were Southern or Midwestern states.

Obesity is defined as having a a body mass index of 30 percent or higher.

“The biggest risk related to obesity is cardiovascular disease,” said Music Gaylor, director of inpatient services at Shoals Hospital. “After that, it is like a snowball effect to the rest of the body. You have an increased risk of Type II diabetes, osteoporosis, high blood pressure. There is just a multitude of issues related to obesity.”

Alabamians, according to the report, are highly inactive — 27.6 percent of adults are inactive — and most fail to eat the recommended servings of fruits and vegetables. Just 9.5 percent of adults in Alabama eat the recommended servings of fruit, and only 7.1 percent eat the right amount of vegetables.

“You can’t buy sweet tea anywhere other than the South, and sugar is a staple in many of our diets,” Gaylor said.

Gaylor said anyone wanting to lose weight should consult a physician to establish a weight-loss plan.

“You could have a vitamin deficiency, like a vitamin D or B12 deficiency, that could make it difficult to maintain weight loss,” she said. “A physician can order the tests and answer questions and put you on the appropriate plan. “

Lee Renfroe, a health promotions professor at the University of North Alabama, said there are multiple cultural and societal causes behind Alabama’s — and the rest of the South’s — high obesity rate.

She said there are correlations between high obesity rates and areas with high poverty, low income, high unemployment rates, high number of food assistance program recipients, and less access to parks and recreation areas.

And, Renfroe said, because Alabama is largely rural — like much of the rest of the South — it is a mighty struggle to combat obesity.

“We tend to be rural where as in bigger cities there tend to be parks you can walk to and neighborhood schools you walk to,” she said. “When you live in a rural area, you don’t have the same walking access to parks and schools.”

And jobs, such as farming, that are commonly associated with rural areas and do provide a means of physical activity, have become fewer and fewer and more and more automated, Renfroe said.

Southern culture doesn’t help, either.

“I truly believe it has to do with our hospitality mentality,” Renfroe said. “We think when we offer you food and drink it is the right thing to do. We attach food to all social activities. We say, ‘What are we going to eat?’ and ‘What food are we bringing?’

“We have the mentality that another piece or another serving will make you feel better.”

from myhealtyze http://www.myhealtyze.tk/alabama-second-in-obesity-ranking-times-daily/