National Report To Rank Michigan's Obesity
SOUTHFIELD (WWJ) - So just how fat is Michigan? Well, we'll soon find out just where the state ranks on the latest obesity ratings when Trust for America's Health releases its latest ranking of states and obesity on Thursday morning.
Providence Park Hospital registered dietician Emily Schwartz says Michigan generally falls near the top. She says this is, in part, because our large cities don't have good access to fresh foods and vegetables. "If you live in a big city and there's not a grocery store or Meijer or anything like that for miles, oftentimes there's just convenience stores or gas stations. And there's nothing, no fresh produce or anything like that there and then you're forced into eating burritos and hot dogs and things like that, which obviously are not good for you," says Schwartz.
Schwartz sees on average 8 to 10 overweight patients a day. She says most people eat beyond what they are actually able to. "Your brain and your stomach together can't process fullness until about 20 minutes after you've started eating. And most of us eat much faster than that, so we're typically able to exceed our satiety well before our brain catches up with it and we start to realize that we are in fact full," she says. Schwartz says a good rule of thumb is to eat until you feel about 80-percent full.
Trust for America's Health will release its report at 10am Thursday.
