Is it getting fatter, though? Modern obesity drugs have got to be making a dent now.
Comment on I live in the green part
WoahWoah@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Is it possible they’re expressing admiration or paying you a compliment not invoke your disdain?
Incidentally, according to the most recent CDC numbers, Colorado is no longer “green” on this map, just Hawaii and DC.
There’s only eight states under 30%. West Virgina tops the numbers at 41%.
~75% of the United States is classified as overweight or obese, which is staggering. It has to be pretty unevenly distributed even within states, because I live in a college town in a low-middle-weight state, and very few appear obese, and I’m regularly in a nearby major metro, and I don’t see a ton of obese people there either. Rural children are 10-15 times more likely to obese, so I’m guessing that is probably a major factor as well.
25-35% obesity rates covers like 80% of states, so the US is just fat and getting fatter.
Anamnesis@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Krauerking@lemy.lol 2 weeks ago
Well for the wealthy, sure. Can’t ever stop taking your drugs to fix your life and need the funds to do it.
Trainguyrom@reddthat.com 2 weeks ago
The new semiglutide drugs have only been on the market since about 2019, and in the best cases members in the study only lost up to 30% bodyweight (and real world data that’s been trickling in is even less, topping out at around 15-20%) so for someone who needs to halve their weight it’s only getting them part of the way there.
Additionally they work by mucking with one’s metabolism so the patient wouldn’t feel hungry. That only helps people who are overweight due to overeating. Tons of people have undiagnosed health issues that muck with their weight, and we all know the systemic challenges related to healthcare access and access to diagnosis and treatment, especially with how doctors tend to treat to patients who are minorities, female, overweight or any combination of the above.
Also most patients are not able to keep the weight off after stopping semiglutide treatment, even in studies where participants were simultaneously given personalized diet and exercise guidance and switched to a placebo treatment, as soon as treatment was stopped the weight returned.
These new semiglutide treatments are incredible and are allowing people to lose weight more successfully and more effectively than they might have ever been able to, but they aren’t the entire solution to the obesity epidemic.
If you want to learn more, I highly recommend this episode of the Maintenance Phase podcast for more details (transcript and sources also available!)
XeroxCool@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I’d expect a county map to more appropriately show the trend. Coastal cities can steamroll stats for a state with vastly disproportional representation. I would expect cities to have lower obesity rates due to increased travel by walking while deep rural counties to have higher rates due to driving everywhere, including on your own property. Perhaps it’s not California and New York that’s doing the right thing, but rather LA and NYC doing the heavy lifting. A county map could also pull in variation correlated to ethnicity of people (genetics, imported cultural norms) and ethnicity/variety of food available, too (can you get fresh fare or is it all McDonald’s?). I would expect DC to be more in line with other large metro counties.
Basically the same issues with the electoral college. States are big and not necessarily a good representation of human statistics. Counties may not be granular enough, but I expect it to be an improvement. I’m not seeing date marked results past 2008.
I have no relevant comments for Colorado, I don’t get it
WoahWoah@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Agreed. A more granular map would be interesting to see.
Re: Colorado, it’s just a relatively healthy state with a general ethos of living well. I think you’re seeing some of that being the urban effect through the Denver, Colorado Springs, etc. and then you have the addition of rural areas of Colorado being outdoorsy still, as well as very often still affluent or “rural poor.” Colorado has one of the lowest rural poverty rates in the United States.
And since Colorado would be in the 25-29.9 category now, it’s comparable to many states that also have comparable rural poverty rates. The fact that the states with the highest rural poverty also have the highest weights, I’m sure there’s a relationship there. I imagine the obesity rates and poverty rates heavily overlap.
possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
I think the main problem is that people are eating way to much sugar and salt. The problem is that a lot food you can buy at the store has way to much sugar and salt. Also some people have grown up being conditioned to eat junk like heavy sugar and grease.
MagicPterodactyl@lemmy.ml 2 weeks ago
Do you have any source for salt casing obesity? I’ve never heard of that being a thing.
possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
It doesn’t cause obesity to my knowledge. It does cause heart disease and blocks circulation.
When I say salt I also mean cholesterol
ahal@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
Unevenly distributed, but also statistical bias. Anywhere you go obese people are less likely to be out and about.
Corkyskog@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
A good way to sample is a hospital or Dr office waiting room.
GBU_28@lemm.ee 2 weeks ago
That be the inverse uneven distribution. You want somewhere everyone has to go, regardless of health
Corkyskog@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
Pretty sure healthy and unhealthy people go to the doctors for check ups. In fact, healthy people might be more likely to go to their annual appointment.