I recently watched this video on YouTube. It was very informative on diets and healthstyle in Japan, and got me wondering about the US. Yes, we know that the US tops the World charts for obesity, but are there areas around the US that are better or worse? And where should I live if I want to diet successfully? Turns out that the answers to all of these questions were just a few searches away. Oh internets, what did we ever do without you?
As far as demographics for BMI in the US, that one is pretty easy. States were ranked depending on the percentage of people who fell into the "obese" category for the Body Mass Index. A healthy BMI is between 18.5%-24.9%, overweight is 25%-29.9%, and obese is anything 30% and above. If you do not know your BMI, click here for a quick calculation. Although no state is the US has below 20% of the people being obese, there were quite a few with 20%-25% of people being over 30% BMI. As of 2010, those with the best score included California, Colorado, Alaska, Arizona, Connecticut, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Vermont, and Utah. In 2009, Colorado was the only state to have below 20% of the population fall into the obese category.
States with the highest percentage of obesity (more than 30% of the population) were Texas, Oklahoma, Alabama, Arkansas, Missouri, Michigan, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and West Virginia. The state with the highest percent of obesity was Mississippi at 34%.
Although these numbers by no means say that certain states have all unhealthy people in them or are, overall, less healthy than others, it is very interesting to look at which states fall into each category. Obviously, states where health and fitness are highly encouraged (like California, Colorado, and New York) have lower percentages of obesity. These states are also less accepting of fast and preservative filled foods.
Whether we are healthier or less healthy depending on our area is a completely new thought in many research fields. Researchers are currently finding that everything from the UV index of your area to the altitude at which you live can affect your health. Those who live closer to chemical plants, smog, and fast food restaurants tend to be less healthy than those who live near fresh produce groceries and even those at higher altitudes.
Personally, I know that when we go up to Michigan (a red state in obesity), I tend to gain between 2-3 pounds per summer. Then, I come home and it is gone within two months. This is not to say anything terrible about Michigan, I just do not eat as healthy as I do at home even though we work to eat healthier every summer we are away!
P.S. For a super detailed list of obesity depending on state, check out the link here. The CDC also has some fantastic info on obesity. Most of my numbers were taken straight from this article along with tidbits from here, and here, and here... Just in case there were not enough random numbers for you to look at ;)