Fat and Furious: The Rise of Obesity in the USA

Lies, damned lies, and statistics -- Mark Twain

http://econlog.econlib.org/GQE/gqe142.html

"According to an American Medical Association report, 14.5 % of Americans in 1980 were obese, a total of 32,700,000 (based on a population of 226,000,000). If, as the above article states, the numbers of obese Americans have "doubled" in the past twenty years, this would mean there are now about 66 million of them. But thirty million of those fatties were created by a change in definition, so by the standards of 1980 [we would calculate an] obesity percentage of 12.85 percent, an actual decrease in obesity percentage since 1980."

I would agree that obesity is increasing, but I wish they had based their maps on actual measured data rather than estimating, it from self-reported height and weight. I also can't find evidence of what population was surveyed - only people attending clinics serving diabetics, or persons with an interest in diabetes, or persons willing to talk on the phone about their health problems?

wpdunn, you're just being ignorant. There is no government agenda or media BS in reports about obesity or hunger in the U.S. Those who have money to eat, fill up on garbage and junk. Those who don't have enough money may still be obese because they eat off the dollar menu; at the supermarket, a box of mac and cheese is cheaper than a salad. There are also plenty in the U.S. who don't have enough money for rent and groceries for their whole family, so don't be so quick to dismiss the idea that yes, you can have poverty and obesity at the same time.

There are fat people in all developed countries.

Get over it.

people eat when they are anxious, and the economy certainly has been making people anxious. so... either there's too much estrogen in the plastic and we're all turning into neutered girl men or we need to get out more. damn you tumblr and reddit!