Notice that Tennessee has joined the pocket of southern states with obesity rates above 30 percent is depressing news. Given the deluge of media coverage in recent years of the personal and societal consequences of obesity, public warnings obviously have failed to reach or motivate personal changes to control caloric intake and observe healthier habits, especially exercise. The trend now seems likely to worsen unless better preventive and public education programs can be devised.

New adult obesity statistics compiled by the Trust for America's Health show that Tennessee now ranks fourth for adult obesity, with 30.2 percent of adults falling into that category. Mississippi leads, with a 32.5 percent rate. Alabama, at 31.2 percent, is second. West Virginia, 31.1 percent, is third. South Carolina, with 29.7 percent, falls slightly behind Tennessee, to round out the fattest five states for adults.

By contrast, Colorado is the leanest, with an adult obesity rate of 18.9 percent, which is still high by figures as recently as 1991. Then, not a single state had an obesity rate above 20 percent.

The culprits are obvious. First there's the regrettable lack of regular exercise. Then there's a stunning excess of calories from oversized meals, frequent calorie-laden fast food meals and snacks, and the unhealthy consumption of far too many processed food products -- concoctions of food-like substances that come in boxes, cans and frozen food shelves, mainly designed to substitute for real, unprocessed food (fresh produce, raw vegetables, meats and real cheese and dairy products).

Indeed, few people can miss the parade of obese shoppers pushing grocery carts laden with white bread, chips, boxes of pizzas, Hamburger Helper, and sugary cereals and sodas. Most adults need just 1,500 to 2,200 calories a day to maintain a reasonable weight, but they may consume that much in a single fast food meal of 2,000 calories, or more.

Educators, parents and adults who fail to inform themselves are leading this parade to unhealthiness not just for themselves, but also for their children, whose obesity rates are now rising off the charts. Tennessee now has the third highest rate of diabetes. Worse, 36.5 percent of Tennessee children are obese or overweight. Children as young as five are now getting Type 2 diabetes, formerly known as "adult-onset" diabetes because it was rarely seen in children.

The consequences are dire. Ever-higher health care costs, loss of economic competitiveness due to unhealthy workers, and loss of quality of life for people who fail to educate themselves about caloric needs or to observe healthy eating and exercise habits. The sad irony is that obesity is largely a self-inflicted condition that leads straight to a range of diseases that could easily be avoided with education, self-discipline and healthier habits.