Dramatic Rise in U.S. Obesity and Related Diseases

The number of obese adults is on course to dramatically increase in all 50 U.S. states over the next 20 years, according to a report published on Tuesday.

America’s current obesity rates range from Mississippi’s high of 34.9 percent to Colorado’s low of 20.7 percent, according to the latest data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But the new report released by Trust for America’s Health said that, by 2030, Mississippi’s obesity rate will have swelled to 66.7 percent, and Colorado’s to 44.8 percent.

If obesity rates maintain their current trajectories, by 2030, 13 states could have adult obesity rates above 60 percent, 39 states could have rates above 50 percent, and all 50 states could have rates above 45 percent.

Estimates for the medical costs of treating America’s current adult obesity range from $147 billion to $210 billion per year. And the new report anticipates a dramatic increase in these costs, as well as in obesity-related disease rates.

But why is obesity such an epidemic in Anglo-Saxon nations, most particularly the U.S.? Obesity has swelled in inverse proportion to the reduced emphasis on physical activity in schools and communities. It is also surging in inverse relation to the decline of the traditional-family, home-based lifestyle.

Society’s dramatic loosening in standards of behavior, manners and morals has also removed shame from the equation. Once, obesity would have been viewed as a character problem and a weakness reflecting a lack of wholesome pride in appearance. But for so many people, those days are gone.

God inspired Moses to prophesy about this startlingly specific facet of the result of the Anglo-Saxon nations’ rebellion against Him: “Thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness” (Deuteronomy 32:15). The Hebrew for the phrase “covered with fatness” means to be literally “covered with fat flesh.” The term thick comes from the Hebrew meaning “dense,” which can apply physically and intellectually.

To learn how you can avoid being a part of the intensifying obesity pandemic, read our article “Help Yourself to Radiant Health.”