Obesity: A supersized problem

By Angie Long

It’s not so unusual for someone in their 50s to deal with hypertension or high cholesterol.

But what if you haven’t even made it to your 10th birthday?

Childhood obesity is on the rise in the U.S., nearly tripling in the number of cases over the last 30 years.

Alabama, which is second in the nation in the number of obese adults at 31.2 percent, ranks sixth nationwide with 36.1 percent of its children, ages 10-17, falling into the obese category.

Studies indicate states with high numbers of overweight or obese youth also have high rates of childhood poverty with low scores in measurements of childhood wellbeing. | The Demopolis Times