It’s not hard to confirm the validity of a new report that Tennessee now ranks fourth in the nation in the percentage of obese adults. A glimpse at the crowd in the stands at a football game, at shoppers in a mall or at any other place here and across the state where people congregate should quickly validate the finding. The resultant picture is not pretty, but it should serve as a call to action for those concerned about the physical and economic health of the state and its residents.
Tennessee, sadly, is not the worst example of excess poundage, though 31.9 percent of its adults classified as obese. Mississippi leads all states in the percentage of obese adults with 34.4 percent. It is followed by Alabama (32.2 percent) and West Virginia (32.2). The numbers are stark, particularly since the report’s authors carefully defined the terms “overweight” and “obese.” The difference in terms is more than semantic; it can be life-altering.
Those who are overweight have too much body weight for their height, and often face various health issues as a result. Those who are obese have “an excessively high amount of body fat” in relation to lean body mass. As a result, they are at high risk for debilitating and potentially deadly health problems. That’s why the report that nearly a third (31.9 percent) of Tennessee adults is obese is so unsettling.
What’s even more disturbing is that the state’s obesity rate has increased by 90 percent since 1995. On closer examination, that’s hardly a surprise. After all, Tennessee trailed only Oklahoma and Alabama for the fastest-growing rates of obesity. That suggests the number of obese Tennesseans will continue to expand in coming years.
If that proves to be the case, it will be costly. Obese individuals – adults as well as a growing cohort of children and teens – consume a disproportionate share of health care dollars in the United States. That’s especially true in Tennessee, where much of the expense is borne by taxpayers since so many individuals rely on the state for health care subsidies.