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Report: Oklahomans Still Fat

1:12 PM EDT on October 14, 2019

It seems like every week or so, some national website in search of backlinks releases a patchwork "study" that rudely reminds everyone how fat, dumb and lazy Oklahomans are.

Last week was no different.

Via The Oklahoman:

Oklahoma ranks ahead of Alabama in one poll at least.

The Sooner State is No. 3 in the nation when it comes to the most obese, according to a survey by ConsumerProtect.com

The survey says 36.5% of Oklahoma’s adult population struggles with obesity, compared to the national average of 30.1%.

ConsumerProtect.com looked at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data on obesity, exercise and healthy eating habits.

On the topic of trimming fat, I'd like to point out it took two Oklahoman writers to patch together those 150 words of clickbait. And we wonder why journalism is failing.

Although the rest of the country is doing their finest to catch up to our waistlines, expect Oklahoma to cling to the number three spot like a fat kid holding a Braum's Ice Cream cone.

According to another clickbait study picked up by The Norman Transcript, Oklahoma's youth are doing their part to keep us a #Top10State in obesity.

Oklahomans continue to pack on the pounds.

More than 1 in 3 Oklahoma adults is now obese, according to an analysis released by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a philanthropy that focuses on pressing health issues.

That's up from 1 in 5 in 2000. In 1990, just 10% of adults were classified as having excessive body fat, the study found.

Oklahoma's adult obesity rate now ranks 10th in the country, the analysis determined.

Wait a second?! I thought we were #3 when it came to obesity, not 10th? That's some BCS bullshit! Just like with college football, I'm going to stick with the poll that has us closest to the top.

Also, just like with college football, it looks like our recruits are going to keep us near the top of the rankings:

For youth ages 10 to 17, the state's obesity rate ranks sixth in the country. An estimated 18% of youth are classified as obese.

Study officials, though, noted a declining obesity rate among youth ages 2 to 4 who are enrolled in feeding assistance best known as WIC, the Women, Infants and Children nutrition program.

Those obesity rates dropped from 15.4% to 13.8% between 2010 and 2014, the study found.

The report warns that if the state's numbers remain on track, nearly 513,000 Oklahomans will have adult diabetes by 2030. Nearly 1.1 million will have heart disease. And the number of people suffering obesity-related cancers will increase from 60,000 in 2010 to 147,000 by 2030.

On a positive note, at least we'll know what illnesses and diseases we'll all be suffering from in eleven years. Well, that is if any of us last that long.

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