Are Men or Women Gaining Weight in Northfield?

America’s epidemic of fatness extends to Northfield, to Dakota and Rice counties, where obesity rates were at 34.7 percent and 36.7 (respectively) for men in 2011. Using the map above, you can see the rates were 27.0 percent and 27.9 percent (respectively) for men in 2001.

Obesity statewide in Minnesota increased less than in Northfield and the rest of Dakota and Rice counties, with a 7.3 percentage point increase in the same time period for men.

Compared to Dakota County, Rice County men are growing fatter at a faster rate, and men in both counties are more fat than the national average of 33.8 percent. In 2011, obesity prevalence for both genders in the United States ranged from 20.7 percent in Colorado to 34.9 percent in Mississippi, according to the CDC.

The county figures on the map are from a recent study from the University of Washington, which found that nationwide women are more obese than their male counterparts.

But men and women aren’t gaining weight at the same rate: In Northfield and the rest of Dakota and Rice counties, men reported a 7.7 percent increase and an 8.8 percent increase (respectively), while women’s obesity rates rose 5.2 percent and 7.1 percent (respectively) from 2001–2011.

According to the CDC, obesity affects more than one-third of adults, or 35.7 percent of the population in the United States. Obesity is calculated by measuring a person’s height and weight, and deriving at a ratio called the body mass index, or BMI. This number often correlates to an individual’s amount of body fat, and is used to ascertain whether a person is considered underweight, a normal weight, overweight or obese.

Obese individuals have a 50–100 percent increased risk of premature death, and it’s estimated that obesity may be the cause of 300,000 deaths per year according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Interestingly, Americans claim to be exercising more during the same time period that obesity climbed. “Around the country, you can see huge increases in the percentage of people becoming physically active, which research tells us is certain to have health benefits,” said IHME Director Dr. Christopher Murray in a press release. Murray added that “If communities in the US can replicate this success and tackle the ongoing obesity impact, it will see more substantial health gains.”

The good news is that there may be silver lining to America’s fat epidemic. While we’re still getting fatter, at least it’s happening at a slower rate than in past years. And if this rate continues to drop, Northfield might soon be reporting slimmer, healthier residents.

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