Americans getting ever fatter: In most states, a new report says, 1 in 5 is obese. But little is being done about it

The Philadelphia Inquirer

08-28-07

Aug. 28--Years after public-health authorities declared an obesity epidemic, Americans are not only getting fatter, but they are actually getting fatter faster. And most people aren't doing much about it.

In 47 of the 50 states, at least one person in five was obese last year, and the percentage is rising, according to a study released yesterday by Trust for America's Health, a national nonprofit that advocates for health-risk prevention programs.

In 1991, the group said, the scorecard was virtually the reverse: One person in five was obese in just four states.

The findings come as Philadelphia and other cities are seeking to ban trans fats in restaurants, schools are yanking syrupy soft drinks from hallways, and television shows are pushing contestants to shed pounds.

Yet too many Americans are treating obesity like an inconvenience instead of a public-health epidemic, said James S. Marks, a physician and vice president of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in New Brunswick, N.J., which helped finance the study.

"We're not sending a wake-up call," Marks said. "We're ringing the warning bell." Read more