Is Your State Making You Fat???

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  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    We are fat as a nation because we eat too much processed food, expect our portions to be supersized, and don't move our body.

    This ^^ I blame the pizza delivery dude (or dudette) and Netflix.
  • babynun
    babynun Posts: 120 Member
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    I have no one to blame for my weight gain other than myself. I let myself get this way and I am the one who has to fix it. I was very active and thin up until a few years ago. Then I stopped working out, but continued to eat as if I was working out. This of course caused me to gain weight, but its my fault. I'm not going to blame Missouri, or anything else for that matter. I did this to myself.

    The first part is admitting that to yourself, so good for you! When I start slipping and want to eat my heart out, I look through all the success stories and it continues to inspire me because regular folks have made their goal.
  • thecanface
    thecanface Posts: 1,180 Member
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    in a fat state... Texas has the best food though.

    but seriously the state and cities in it are so freakin big you can't really walk anywhere. in houston, you need a freeway to get anywhere around her. it sucks! i really wish it was walkable.
  • 1ConcreteGirl
    1ConcreteGirl Posts: 3,677 Member
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    No. I made myself overweight. No portion control, general apathy, and a lack of information regarding nutrition and food are to blame - not pollution. Besides, according to those charts, I live in a "pollution" state, but not an "obese state", so there's no connection there...

    ...Because one person's experience is enough to contradict the overall evidence?

    I think not.
  • Annerk1
    Annerk1 Posts: 372 Member
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    Many of the "red" states are only "red" in a few metro areas with the majority of the state being very clean.

    I don't think there is any corelation at all. Most people become obese through making poor choices in food and lifestyle. This is just another attempt to offload responsibility.
  • 1ConcreteGirl
    1ConcreteGirl Posts: 3,677 Member
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    DAMN you, I was saving that one to use.
    FINE, I still have this one.
    iaPsWii.gif

    IoqFiB0.gif

    Thank you for your allegiance. PM further compliments to me, as I am kind of busy in here fighting the good fight for education.
  • TheRealParisLove
    TheRealParisLove Posts: 1,907 Member
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    my first thought is this...

    NO.

    If I am fat, it is because I am making me fat.

    yes, there is cause and effect... but when it comes down to it... only I am to blame for my current state. I take full responsibility.
    but I am Canadian... so maybe it doesn't apply.

    40% (+/-) of US citizens have no access to affordable health care. I think this definitely makes a difference. I personally haven't seen a doctor in over a decade because a visit would cost me 1/2 a months salary, and that is just to talk to someone before treatment. I have insurance, too. Not that it helps, my annual deductible is $8,000. For Canadians, this means that I have to spend $8,000 out of pocket on medical care before my insurance kicks in. Then anything over $8,000 I still have to pay 30% of the bill, with insurance only covering 70% of my medical expenses.

    But, my premiums are low at only $410 a month.:mad:
  • MG_Fit
    MG_Fit Posts: 1,143 Member
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    One other interesting note is how the obesity map seems to somewhat follow the political leanings of the United States. Compare for example this map showing political leanings state-by-state with the map of obesity in the United States.

    political-leanings-by-state.png

    us.jpg

    It would be interesting to see which states were being heavily lobbied by the fast food industry and which congressmen that these lobbyist had connections to. It makes sense that the fast food industry would want to target the states with the highest populations since their return on investment would be the highest in these states. It's just a matter of statistics as to what part of the population would be more inclined towards eating out in a busy lifestyle and applying your leverage to plant the most outlets in those areas.

    I've also seriously been studying the release of Harlequin romance novels kept in stores vs. the number of Baskin Robbins and Cold Stone Creamery type ice cream stores within a 100 mile location. I think that I have enough evidence to suggest that some of these major stores are tracking the sales of women's feminine hygiene products and placing signs near the front of the store promoting the sale of ice cream and chocolate at non-sale prices because they believe they stand a better chance of hitting your pocket book if you're moody and hormonal.

    This is a great observation. I was actually thinking the same thing.
  • 1ConcreteGirl
    1ConcreteGirl Posts: 3,677 Member
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    There is no evidence to support the idea that pollution CAUSES obesity. As someone already stated (but you guys clearly ignored), correlation does not mean causation. Pollution may be more common in places that also have high obesity rates, but that doesn't mean one is the cause of the other. They may both be results of another underlying cause, such as a less-educated populace. (Less-educated people tend to have higher obesity rates, and also to not vote for environmentalist measures, such as pollution-reducing ones.)

    I find it much more likely that the obesity and pollution are both consequences of low education, than to believe pollution is somehow magically making people fat. Come on, guys. Enough with the witch-doctor hoopla.

    Better education is VERY important, I completely agree.

    That's what I'm trying to do here.

    Education.
  • Cr01502
    Cr01502 Posts: 3,614 Member
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    I appreciate your research efforts and it is an interesting theory. I don't discount that pollutants in the air we breath or water we drink effect our overall health, however there is something of a flaw in the design as correlation does not imply causation. Your study fails to consider diet, lifestyle, and psychological and behavioral history as well as other variables. There have been studies that show a correlation between socio-economic status and obesity. I live in a "red" state and I'm losing weight successfully as well as others in my weight management program so it cannot be chalked up to pollution alone.

    But could your weight loss perhaps be accelerated by moving to a different State?

    I used to live right by the beach in San Diego. Even though it's a red state I would say San Diego as a whole is pretty environmentally friendly and also very thin and attractive. When I moved to London however I became overweight due to the smog and pollution. I have lost weight in London but I'm certain my weight loss would've been accelerated back in San Diego or a less polluted part of the world like the Caribbean.
  • craigmandu
    craigmandu Posts: 976 Member
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    So....drawing conclusions from a coincidence is now cool?

    What if more cars are driven in those states as well? Does that mean GM/Chrysler/Ford/Chevy/Toyota/Honda/Hyundai etc.. are now making us fat?
  • _DaniD_
    _DaniD_ Posts: 2,186 Member
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    Thank you so much for posting this. I was thinking of visiting a friend in the States - so glad I saw this post first. It's extremely polluted where she lives. It's really not worth the 5 lbs I will likely put on while visiting her.
  • rassha01
    rassha01 Posts: 534 Member
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    I am wondering what China's secret is, or Mexico City, two of the highest populous and polluted areas on earth.
  • TitaniaEcks
    TitaniaEcks Posts: 351 Member
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    you found a potential match, now you must prove it right before assessing conclusions. More, you need to prove directionality: what´s causing what.

    Exactly. I mean, it'd be even more possible that obesity is causing pollution, because obese people eat more and therefore fart more methane into the atmosphere, lmfao
  • iWaffle
    iWaffle Posts: 2,208 Member
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    There is no evidence to support the idea that pollution CAUSES obesity. As someone already stated (but you guys clearly ignored), correlation does not mean causation.

    Correlation does not imply causation, but it does waggle its eyebrows suggestively and gesture furtively while mouthing "look over there."
  • dedicated2014
    dedicated2014 Posts: 36 Member
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    No. I made myself overweight. No portion control, general apathy, and a lack of information regarding nutrition and food are to blame - not pollution. Besides, according to those charts, I live in a "pollution" state, but not an "obese state", so there's no connection there...

    ...Because one person's experience is enough to contradict the overall evidence?

    I think not.

    But TWO maps that you found online are enough to be called "evidence" for a theory that has no other support?

    I think not. You need more evidence than that.
  • 1ConcreteGirl
    1ConcreteGirl Posts: 3,677 Member
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    I appreciate your research efforts and it is an interesting theory. I don't discount that pollutants in the air we breath or water we drink effect our overall health, however there is something of a flaw in the design as correlation does not imply causation. Your study fails to consider diet, lifestyle, and psychological and behavioral history as well as other variables. There have been studies that show a correlation between socio-economic status and obesity. I live in a "red" state and I'm losing weight successfully as well as others in my weight management program so it cannot be chalked up to pollution alone.

    But could your weight loss perhaps be accelerated by moving to a different State?

    I used to live right by the beach in San Diego. Even though it's a red state I would say San Diego as a whole is pretty environmentally friendly and also very thin and attractive. When I moved to London however I became overweight due to the smog and pollution. I have lost weight in London but I'm certain my weight loss would've been accelerated back in San Diego or a less polluted part of the world like the Caribbean.

    Yes, thanks!!

    Someone mentioned that this is an attempt to pass off responsibility. I too live in San Diego, and I am very thin and attractive.

    You better believe I'm never moving away from here. California is a really special state because it is both attractive AND polluted. As you can see from the maps, this is a very rare thing.
  • RandomMiranda
    RandomMiranda Posts: 298
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    Forgive my spelling. I probably am spelling all these wrong.

    The Highest pollution states are: Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, Texas, California and Alaska

    The Highest Obesity States are : Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia, Missouri, Arkansas, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas, and South Carolina

    Only five of those overlap. Michigan, Indiana, Texas, Alabama and Louisiana

    I would say this argument doesn't hold water. While everyone wants to believe this and it sounds quite nice, I would say your eyes are fooling you when you look at the maps.

    Also, the highest obesity state in the whole of the US doesn't make it onto both lists.

    Yes, this. People keep using words like causation and relationship. This is not a statistically significant relationship. There's not even a correlation, let alone causation.
  • chymerra
    chymerra Posts: 212
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    your state doesn't make you fat, you make you fat.

    (you = general you)
  • pastryari
    pastryari Posts: 8,646 Member
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    Thank you so much for posting this. I was thinking of visiting a friend in the States - so glad I saw this post first. It's extremely polluted where she lives. It's really not worth the 5 lbs I will likely put on while visiting her.


    But baby I already told you I'd help you burn those lbs off if you came to visit me!

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