While America's economy continues to plummet, American's waistlines continue to grow.
Bulging American bellies have pushed adult obesity rates up in 23 states, though California remained at last year's level, according to a report released last week by the Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
The report, titled "F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies are Failing in America 2009," puts California at the 11th lowest adult obesity rate at 23.6 percent, while Mississippi topped the list for the fifth year in a row with obese adults constituting a whopping 32.5 percent of its population.
Childhood obesity is also on the rise. In 30 states, 30 percent or more 10-to-17-year-olds are overweight or obese, according to the report.
California is one of those 30 states, placing 28th, as 30.5 percent of our youth tip the scales. Mississippi kids sit at the top with a plump 44.4 percent being overweight or obese.
Dawn McNulty-Wall, a personal trainer and owner of Your Personal Trainer in Chico, said that fast food, laziness and a lack of education are hurting our youth.
"The biggest problem in the education system is not making health and nutrition a priority," she said. "These kids are eating burritos and hot dogs that have been processed and packaged instead of eating prepared meals."
Nineteen states, including California, have mandatory nutritional requirements for school breakfasts, lunches and snacks that are stricter than those of the
USDA.
McNulty-Wall said two laws passed in California in 2005 -- Senate Bills 12 and 965 -- force schools to only serve healthy food options. She said that was a step in the right direction, but too much was taken away without suitable replacements being brought in.
Nutrition at school is not the only problem she sees.
"Children in California are spoiled," she said. "They sit around and play video games and watch movies, but they don't want to go out and play."
That's the problem for adults as well, she said.
"People just simply don't get off their butts and aren't physically active."
The report cites many trends in American culture that are to blame for the rise in obesity.
Americans tend to walk less and drive more, even for short trips; spend more time behind TV and computer screens; eat 300 more calories a day than in the 1980s; and consume less nutritious foods.
Angelo Poli, a certified personal trainer and nutritionist who owns Whole Body Fitness in Chico, believes obesity is partially fueled by the diet industry.
"They promote a belief cycle that weight loss is simply reducing calories, when in actuality that's a factor but not the mechanism that results in weight loss," he said. "In order to lose weight, you have to adjust your metabolism."
Poli works with his clients to revise their eating habits, kick-start their metabolisms and help them lose weight in a healthy way to keep it off for life.
He thinks the American lifestyle -- fast food three times a week and loads of processed junk food -- is part of what has led to skyrocketing obesity rates.
"It's absolutely butchering us," he said. "Good eating now is you finish your hamburger before your french fries."
He noted that the discovery of high fructose corn syrup in the 1970s and the increase in processed and packaged foods in the 1980s has definitely contributed to Americans' expanding waistlines and a rise in diabetes.
"Refined and processed foods have gotten our hormone systems so out of whack, we're set up for failure," Poli said, adding that when you eat processed foods, they immediately dump large quantities of sugar straight to your bloodstream.
Although exercise is also an important part of maintaining or losing weight, Poli's main piece of advice is to watch what you eat.
"You can't out-exercise your bad diet."
Staff intern Megan McCourt can be reached at 896-7767 or mmccourt@chicoer.com. To see more of the Chico Enterprise-Record or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.chicoer.com. Copyright (c) 2009, Chico Enterprise-Record, Calif. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
Copyright (C) 2009, Chico Enterprise-Record, Calif.