Report: Michigan 10th Most Obese State
LANSING (WWJ) - How are we doing in fighting the Battle of The Bulge? Michigan was named the tenth most obese state in the country, according to a new national report on obesity by the Trust For America's Health.
So, why are we so fat? Providence Park Hospital registered dietician Emily Schwartz sees on average 8 to 10 overweight patients a day. She says it's like the old saying: "Your eyes are bigger than your stomach."
"Your brain and your stomach together can't process fullness until about 20 minutes after you've started eating," Schwartz told WWJ's Greg Bowman.
"And most of us eat much faster than that, so, we're typically able to exceed our satiety well before our brain catches up with that and we begin to realize that we are, in fact, full," she said.
Schwartz said Michigan generally ranks near the top, in part because our large cities don't have good access to fresh foods and vegetables.
"If you live in a big city and there's not a grocery store or Meijer or anything like that for miles, often times there's just conveniece stores or gas stations, then there's no fresh produce or anything like that there ... then you're forced into eating burritos or hot dogs and things like that when obviously are not good for you," Schwartz said.
Adult obesity rates increased in 16 states in the past year including Michigan and did not decline in any state. Twelve states including Michigan now have obesity rates above 30 percent.
The full report with state rankings in all categories is available at www.healthyamericans.org.