Red-Light Cameras Not So Special?
Cubs Combat Casino
PHOTOS: Peaches And Amanda Blank At Metro
County Sales Tax Rollback Vetoed - Here We Go Again
The Return of The Chicagoist Reader Meet-Up
Students at Eberhart Elementary School exercise; AP Photo/M. Spencer Green
In another round of Great News!, it turns out kids in Illinois are getting fatter. In a study just released, based on 2007 data from the National Survey of Children's Health, Illinois children rank fourth in the United States in terms of being overweight or obese with 20.7 percent of the children tipping the scales.
"This is a growing trend, not just in Illinois but throughout the country," said Kelly Jakubek, Illinois Department of Public Health spokeswoman. "We've worked hard to implement programs that help kids eat more healthily and be more active, but that takes a commitment from parents and students and families."Illinois adults fared better in the report. According to other CDC data, the state ranked 27th for adult obesity at 25.9 percent. An additional 36.4 percent of Illinois adults were overweight.
Illinois was 10th overall for the 10 to 17 age bracket, meaning teens are getting in on the act as well. [Tribune, CBS 2]
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
tweet this
post to facebook
That pic is too funny.
I wish there was a real push to stop this...in fact I'm kind of curious as to how this is happening.
Obesity is a terrible affliction and it's embarrassing that this is a real problem for so many americans.
I think it's time people did someting drastic with the way they treat obesity...and no hanging out with other fat people is not a cure.
Yeah, I also wonder why this is happening. I think I'll sit here the rest of the day in front of my machine, trying to google an answer.
So you just think that american kids are just not playing as much as they used to?
I kind of think it might have something to do with processed foods as well, or maybe a combination of the two.
I think processed foods may be part of it, though I think the impact is over-stated. 1,500 calories of processed food are no worse or better than 1,500 calories of non-processed food in terms of weight gain or loss. The only difference is that they may be more convenient and thus more likely to be eaten in greater quantities, but I could go either way on that.
I think the real culprit is that as a society, we all have gotten far more sedentary, and a big part of this has to do with technology ... everybody has 700 cable channels or a computer with internet access to an infinite number of games and other time wasters. Kids don't go wandering outside the way they used to. And it's not just kids. It's all of us.
And yeah, I know this sounds like get-off-my-lawn fogeyism.
Well, as someone who just got back from the gym on his (late) lunchbreak, I think it's not just kids. MAN, but there are a bunch of fat adults out there! People who should know better. And instead of feeling compelled to lose weight to work with society better, they're being enabled by bigger chairs in the office, bigger seats on the plane, bigger seats in the movie theater, "nutrition bars" that are basically candy bars, more and more drive-thrus for EVERYTHING, being sold on the idea of low-calorie beers and then watching them drink 20 of them in one night, pretending they're "hip" when they have to start wearing baggy jeans (they must be flipping inside now that skinny jeans are making fashion inroads), etc. etc. etc. We make all of these excuses and allowances for people, kids and adults, being overweight (glandular, stress, psychological trauma, that whole "overweight but healthy" fallacy). I'm not a health fanatic and don't preach this to everyone I see, but I knew that when I hit 250 pounds (I'm 6-3, but still...) and felt my stomach jiggling a little when I was walking down the street, I had to do something. I'm down to 214 and can do 80 pound dumbbell bench presses. I'm slated to do a duathalon next weekend in Wisconsin (5K, 40 mile bike ride, another 5K). I know I might sound like I'm preaching or bragging or whatever, but I'm just trying to say I wish people would just get out there and do SOMETHING, especially with their kids. Don't wait until it's too late. And you feel a hell of a lot better too. Trust me. Hell, I even stopped smoking (well, almost).
hear hear stealth. you have my vote.
And that pic is hilarious. :D
The Wussification of America This kind of crap makes me crazy....
I think being obese has become acceptable. I'll say this right here: I think fat people are gross and pathetic.
@Stealth: despite your raging on getting fit, if you're still smoking, you have a loooong way to go in improving your health. Your lungs are just screaming, "Save Us!"
@Gerobobo: You're gross and pathetic. Now stand in the corner.