Colorado is still the thinnest state in the country

[Roon]

http://www.denverpost.com/nationworld/ci_4256156

Why, Oh why, did I have to live in the thinnest state? First thing tuesday morning (after labor day) I start eating clean and start exercising. I am determined to lose 50 pounds in the next ten months. I have done it countless times before, just wish I could keep it off.

[GardeningGal]

1. I hear you!

I've been working on my weight since May and it sure has been slow coming off. However, I'm getting stronger and I'm feeling much better so I'll keep on working.

Good luck to you and make sure you keep up with the exercise even if you stumble occasionally on the food.

[rockymountaindem]

2. Good luck with your efforts!

[DavidDvorkin]

3. It certainly doesn't look that way to me

I've lived here since 1971, and I've seen the waistlines in Denver go from slim to enormous.

If we're the thinnest state in the Union, then the country's health is really in disastrous shape.

[politicat]

4. You know, the presence of Olympic training centers and college students

skews the number a bit. Colorado is also one of the younger states in the union, and being young makes being thin easier. As well as the number of athletes - living at altitude is good for athletes.

As for weight, be content with the place where you and your body and your chemistry is comfortable. Example: when my sister dropped the 75 excess pounds of pregnancy, breast feeding and marriage after her daughter turned two, she startled her doctor and really worried them both - my sister's cholesterol had soared, her triglycerides were out of whack and she was having other chemical issues. Before her pregnancy, she'd been a bit rounder than her doctor was happy with, but her numbers were all in the excellent range. (She dieted and exercised, no Atkins. She did a lot of lean chicken, tofu, vegetables and whole grains and fruits. No bacon in a pound of butter.)

Watch your numbers and look at your family history.

Personally, the thinnest state thing is a little annoying for me. It puts an emphasis not on health but on a scale. It's really easy to be skinny and unhealthy (booze, cigarettes, and anorexia are great for keeping a body thin) just as it is easy to be overweight an unhealthy. There are better, but more expensive, ways to gauge the health of a population.

[ForeverWinter]

7. Politicat, how exactly...

...Is booze great for keeping a body thin? Considering one is ingesting between 100 calories(for a light beer) to possibly 400 or more for a cocktail with sugary additives, and then when a person gets drunk (after five or six--or if my memory of college serves me, many more--of these beverages... 600 to 2500 (!) calories) their inhibitions are limited and they often eat a plate of processed, fattening, nutritionally useless nachos or pizza (another 1000 calories there)... Not to mention: ever tried to work out with a hangover? Booze is great for keeping a body thin? Be serious, please. "Beer gut" is a slang term for a reason.
Cigarettes? I have no beef with you that they are bad, bad, bad. But most of the smokers I know are chubbier than their non-smoking buddies. Hypothesis? No clue. Maybe non-smokers are just more aware of their physical health overall? But despite my smoking friends' claim that you burn x-amount of calories smoking, are less hungry, whatever... they continue to pack on pounds. I've NEVER met a smoker thinner than the majority of their non-smoking friends.
Only 1% of female adolescents (what percentage of the American population are adoescent females? Maybe 5?) are considered to be anorexic or bulimic. Other demographics have no, or barely recordable, percentages of anorexia. Yet overweight Americans count for 65% of the total populatation; obese Americans total 30%.
I'm not saying weight is the way to gauge health. Or that it is fair to judge a peron by weight. Or anything like that! However, drinking, smoking, and eating disorders are NOT affecting Colorado's fraction of thin people. Yes, some people are genetically disposed to weigh more. That's to be expected. But 65% of the population? And you really think those who are a healthy weight are the ones with problems?
Honestly, truly honestly... reasonable portions of healthy food and exercise will do every body good. The corporations are feeding you excess portions of nutritionally barren crap, full of high-fructose corn syrup and processed everything because it makes them money. Your anger is highly misplaced in blaming anorexics and alcoholics for that.
Oh right, and the Olympians? What are there, 200 (if nearly that)? In a state of 3 million? Doesn't skew a thing.

[ForeverWinter]

8. That may have come out harsh

And if so, I apologize. I just think we should blame the right people, the people who are causing obesity in the US, not smokers and athletes!!

[otohara]

5. After Driving to NY Last Year, I Sure Do Appreciate

the food choices we have in CO. Finding a salad bar was impossible, fast food choices were everywhere in the "heartland" - and it showed.

[hasbro]

6. You know why...

It's called the Heartland? Sure as hell isn't the brainland.

[DonMeyer]

9. Easier to exercise in Colorado

Having lived in Ohio & Nebraska it is a lot easier to exercise outdoors in Colorado in both the depths of winter and the heat of summer.