Americans are continuing to get fatter. Obesity rates reached 30 percent or more in nine states last year, as opposed to only three states in 2007.
The increases mean that 2.4 million more people became obese from 2007 to 2009. This brings the total to 72.5 million, or 26.7 percent of the population.
According to the New York Times:
“… [T]he rates are probably underestimates because they are based on a phone survey in which 400,000 participants were asked their weight and height instead of having it measured by someone else, and people have a notorious tendency to describe themselves as taller and lighter than they really are …
Researchers blame the usual suspects: too little exercise and too much of the wrong kind of food.”
Source: New York Times August 3, 2010
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