Finally, Louisiana is Number One

 

Don’t get too excited because the number one ranking was given to our fine state by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the percent of obese adults.  Thirty-five percent (35%), or more than 1 in 3 adults living in Louisiana are now classified as being obese.  Not just overweight……..obese!

CDC defines someone as obese if their weigh to height ratio is 30 or higher.  For example, a 5 foot , 9inch person would be considered obese if he or she weighs 203 pounds or more.

This revelation about how our obesity problem sneaks into our daily lives came to my attention just two days ago after I made a somewhat horrible discovery while eating a free cheeseburger at a national fast food chain.

As I was chewing this free gift, I just happened to peruse the Nutrition Facts Chart that appears on the bottom of the container.  To my horror this single cheeseburger was supplying me with 41% of my daily fat intake, 31% of my cholesterol intake, and 46% of my salt intake, the only one I initially was concerned about.

I also added a soft drink to this mess, which someone once told me, was like eating 12 teaspoons of sugar at one time.  Now if someone put a bowl of sugar in front of you, do you really think you could swallow 12 teaspoons of that stuff all at once?  And what if I had added fries?

The tragedy of all of this is that a lot of our obese citizens are dooming their children to a life of obesity even before they have had the chance to make that decision on their own.  I often see three and four-year-old children of obese parents severely over weight due to their parents’ poor eating habits. Children learn from the actions of their parents, and consequently will adopt these poor habits for the remainder of their lives.  And this destructive cycle will continue with their children.

Let’s all read the labels and at least give our kids a fighting chance to decide their own adult fate!