Currently, one out of every three Americans is obese (or 35.6% to be precise) and the most recent expert projection claims that 42% of the country will be obese by the year 2030. Most of the studies done to track obesity are performed by the Center for Disease Control and are done by calling people and asking them to self report their weight and height. Of course, the whole idea of people accurately reporting their weight may seem laughable, but finding data like this isn't as easy as it may sound. Now HBO is stepping into the conversation with a new four part documentary entitled "The Weight of the Nation" which will be airing this month. You can catch the trailer here.

 

On the local front,  Missoula health specialists have been tracking the Body Mass Index of third graders and have discovered that if you compare local kids to those in other states, while separating out kids in "food deserts" and low-income situations, Missoula's children are on the front line of the nations obesity epidemic. The most recent report found that 28% of Missoula third graders were overweight while, 12% were obese. The reason this is particularly scary is that obese children almost inevitably become obese adults.  Senior Community health Specialist for the Missoula city-county health department, Mary McCourt took the time to discuss the issue with KGVO News, and here's what she had to say.

 

Until Missoula gets an official study done, we won't have a firm grasp on how obese the city is. The last time it was checked, it was just over 20% which is pretty good compared to the national average. So what's your guess, how obese are we anyway?

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