[CJFusco]

I have noticed that different areas of the U.S. have different "fat stats". I live in New England, which is probably about half-and-half. It actually seems like healthy, athletic lifestyles are de rigeur in New England right now, so most of the people I know are very physically fit. But I also run into a lot of people who are anything but...

The interesting thing is that I have noticed that the more affluent towns in New England tend to be thinner, and the poorer sections tend to be fatter. This is easy to figure out: healthy food is simply more expensive than McDonalds and Taco Bell, and people with more leisure time (the wealthy), and who must maintain a social image are more apt to work out. It's weird - 200 years ago, being overweight was a signifier of affluence, and now it's becoming a signifier of "trailer trash"...

Travelling through the midwest, I couldn't believe how many people were simply obese. MUCH more so than in the northeast U.S. Then when I got to the west, however (the urban areas at least) are very fit, comparatively. Probably more so than New England.

I suppose it makes a bit of sense: where you find affluence and well-educated people (along the coasts), you also find healthy people. I suppose we shouldn't be surprised. There's an awful lot of people in the swollen, bloated American heartland, however....