Miss. ranked fattest state in nation
By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS,
Associated Press Writer
Tue Aug 28, 9:04 AM ET
JACKSON, Miss. - Mississippians need to skip the gravy, say no to the fried pickles and start taking brisk walks to fight an epidemic of obesity, experts say. According to a new study, this Deep South state is the fattest in the nation.
It also became the first state to crack the 30 percent barrier for adults considered obese, with West Virginia and Alabama just behind, according to the Trust for America's Health, a research group that focuses on disease prevention.
Aside from being a butt of late-night talk show jokes, the obesity epidemic has serious implications for public policy.
If current trends hold, these states could face enormous increases in the already significant costs of treating diabetes, heart disease and other ailments related to extra weight. The leanest state in the rankings was Colorado, with an obesity rate projected at a much lower 17.6 percent.
"We've got a long way to go. We love fried chicken and fried anything and all the grease and fatback we can get in Mississippi," said Democratic state Rep. Steve Holland, chairman of the Public Health Committee.
Poverty and obesity often go hand in hand, doctors say, because poor families stretch their budgets by buying cheaper, processed foods that have higher fat content and lower nutritional value.
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee — a self-described "recovering foodaholic" who lost 110 pounds and tried to put his entire state on a wellness plan — explained during a Southern Governors' Association meeting last weekend that there are historical reasons poor people often fry their foods: It's an inexpensive way to increase the calories and feed a family.
Lack of exercise is a huge factor in obesity rates. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found last year that more than 22 percent of Americans did not engage in any physical activity in the past month. The percentage is greater than 30 percent in four states: Mississippi, Louisiana, Kentucky and Tennessee.
Mississippi's public schools already are taking steps to try to turn the trend around.
A new law requires at least 150 minutes of physical activity instruction and 45 minutes of health education instruction each week for students in kindergarten through 8th grade. Until now, gym class had been optional.
The state Department of Education also is phasing in restrictions on soft drinks and snacks.
All public schools are currently banned from selling full-calorie soft drinks to students. Next academic year, elementary and middle schools will allow only water, juice and milk, while high schools will allow only water, juice, sports drinks and diet soft drinks.
The state Department of Education publishes lists of snacks that are approved or banned for sale in school vending machines. Last school year, at least 50 percent of the vending offerings had to be from the approved list. That jumped to 75 percent this year and will reach 100 percent next year.
Among the approved snacks are yogurt, sliced fruit and granola bars, while fried pork rinds and marshmallow treats are banned. One middle school favorite — Flamin' Hot Cheetos — are on the approved list if they're baked but banned if they're not.
State Superintendent of Education Hank Bounds said he hopes students will take home the healthful habits.
"We only have students 180 days out of the year for seven hours in a school day. The important thing is that we model what good behavior looks like," he said Monday after finishing a lunch of baked chicken.
Bounds ate at a Jackson buffet that's popular with state legislators. The buffet included traditional, stick-to-your-ribs Southern fare: fried chicken, grits, fried okra, turnip greens.
Dr. William Rowley, who worked 30 years as a vascular surgeon and now works at the Institute for Alternative Futures, said if current trends continue, more than 50 percent of adult Mississippians will be obese in 2015.
Holland, who helps set the state Medicaid budget, said he worries about the taxpayers' cost of treating obesity.
"If we don't change our ways," he said, "we're going to be in the funeral parlors ... because we're going to be all fat and dead."
Here is the state-by-state breakdown of obesity rates, ranked from highest to lowest, released by Trust for America's Health:
Mississippi — 30.6
West Virginia — 29.8
Alabama — 29.4
Louisiana — 28.2
South Carolina — 27.8
Tennessee — 27.8
Kentucky — 27.5
Arkansas — 27.0
Indiana — 26.8
Michigan — 26.8
Oklahoma — 26.8
Missouri — 26.3
Texas — 26.3
Georgia — 26.1
Ohio — 26.0
Alaska — 25.8
North Carolina — 25.6
Nebraska — 25.4
North Dakota — 25.1
Iowa — 24.9
South Dakota — 24.9
Wisconsin — 24.8
Pennsylvania — 24.5
Virginia — 24.5
Illinois — 24.4
Maryland — 24.4
Kansas — 24.3
Minnesota — 23.7
Delaware — 23.6
Oregon — 23.3
Idaho — 23.2
Washington — 23.2
Maine — 23.0
Florida — 22.9
Wyoming — 22.8
California — 22.7
Nevada — 22.5
New Hampshire — 22.4
New York — 22.4
New Jersey — 22.2
New Mexico — 22.0
Arizona — 21.7
Utah — 21.1
Montana — 20.7
Rhode Island — 20.5
Connecticut — 20.1
Hawaii — 20.1
Vermont — 20.0
Massachusetts — 19.8
Colorado — 17.6
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On the Net:
Trust for America's Health:
http://healthyamericans.org 
