The Washington Post has an interesting analysis of data about the rates of obesity. It looks at it from several angles but the article focuses on geographical distribution.
The darker the color of the state the higher the rate of obesity. Clearly a greater percentage of fat people are found in the south and to a lesser extent in the midwest than on the east and west coasts. It is tempting to make some sort of political inferences from this. However, there are some other interesting correlations that are reported.
It isn't just the south that is having pronounced weight problems—certain demographics are especially prone to larger waistlines, too.
There is, for instance, a stark racial divide: Obesity rates rates for blacks exceed 40 percent in 11 states, and 30 percent in 41 states; for Latinos, they are greater than 30 percent in 23 states; but for whites, they are higher than 30 percent in only 10 states.
There is also a wealth divide: Over a third of U.S. adults earning less than $15,000 a year are obese, while only a quarter of those earning more than $50,000 annually carry that distinction.
And there's even a generational divide: Baby boomers (adults aged 45 to 64 years old) are more likely to be obese than any other age group.
What is really important about obesity is that it really is becoming a national epidemic. Even in California with its image of healthy lifestyles, every time I venture out into the world I see people who are so fat that they can barely walk. This is not healthy. It comes with increased risk of such serious health problems as diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
What might be most disconcerting, however, is how quickly and completely the obesity epidemic has overtaken the country. In 1990, not a single U.S. state had an obesity rate above 15 percent, but by 2000, only two, Arizona and Colorado, had obesity rates below 15 percent, and by 2010, not a single state had an obesity rate below 20 percent. Even last year, adult obesity increased significantly in six U.S. states—Alaska, Delaware, Idaho, New Jersey, Tennessee, and Wyoming.
The problem is such that nationally obesity has leveled off at just over 35 percent, which has earned the U.S. the unenviable distinction as the world's most obese major country.