An organization called Trust for America’s Health released its latest obesity report. I don’t think many would call it good news.

This graph caught my eye. We’re more obese than ever.

The report said a lot more so I recommend reading more. It proposes remedies, but people have proposed remedies for decades and the trend continues.

A quote from the report:

“As recently as 2012, no state had an adult obesity rate over 35 percent and within the last five years (2013 and 2018) 33 states had statistically significant increases in their rates of adult obesity.

“A second data source referenced in the report, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) also shows unprecedented levels of obesity in the U.S. In 2015-2016, the most recent available data, the national adult obesity rate was 39.6 percent and the national child obesity rate was 18.5 percent. Strikingly, the incidence of obesity in the U.S. has increased by 70 percent over the last 30 years for adults and by 85 percent over the same time period for children.”

On a related note, I recorded a podcast episode 090: Obesity and the Environment on the topic. From a leadership perspective, they have similarities — one is doing to the body something like what the other is doing to the biosphere. I recommend listening to that episode.

In the meantime, think of what we as a nation and culture we are doing to reach 4 out of ten people being obese and few doing anything about it.

Four out of ten and rising. Not just overweight but obese. What happened?!? . . . I mean, I know what happened. I’m asking rhetorically.

• ← A review of my Google talk
• Attend the Second Annual Leadership and the Environment Panel, October 15 →