CDC website = Eye opeining

         I was reading an article on CNN.com and I found a good article. It’s titled Former football pro helping fattest state get fit, and it’s a good read. Basically, this former football player is trying to help people from Mississippi get into better shape. The article hits some good points about poverty and eating trends of those below the poverty level and that got me thinking about other states and their obesity and income levels. So I got on the Center for Disease Control website to find more information.

         I love the CDC website. There is so much information. I spent my time looking at the interactive maps that scroll through the years. I kept going through the obesity map. It starts in 1985 and goes through 2009. You can literally see the states get fatter by the years. It almost leaves you in awe. I also think they should add a new graphic to that map; they should add the number of fast food restaurants in each state as the years scroll by. I think more people would feel an impact if they saw those numbers too.

            It also breaks everything down by race/ethnicity, diabetes cases, and obesity by county. It really made an impact on me, because I don’t want to be part of any of those statistics.

            I also found maps showing the amount of leisure time and inactivity broken down by state and county. In 2008 in the county I live in 25% of the adults surveyed reported no physical activity. At that time I would have been one of those statistics. I probably didn’t even fill out a survey and send it in. It would have been too much a burden for me! I’m not one of those statistics now. Now I would fall under a category of adults who get 5 or more hours a week of physical activity!

            Anyway, if you are bored and are looking for something to do that isn’t mind numbing you should check out the CDC website. It made me look at some things differently and honestly, it’s kind of disgusting how much our country has collectively let itself go. I don’t want to be any of these bad statistics!