08:52 AM ET 10/27/99

U.S. Southerners Gaining Weight

 U.S. Southerners Gaining Weight
 By SHELLEY HILL=
 Associated Press Writer=
 	   ATLANTA (AP) _ The laid-back Southern lifestyle is affecting
 waistlines below the Mason-Dixon line.
 	   Southerners are less likely to hike, ride a bike, walk or join a
 health club than their counterparts in the rest of the nation. As a
 result, Southerners are tipping the scale at more than 30 percent
 above their ideal body weight.
 	   In short, they're obese.
 	   A study released Tuesday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control
 and Prevention showed that the number of Americans considered obese
 soared from about one in eight in 1991 to nearly one in five last
 year.
 	   In the Southeast, the obesity rate jumped 67.2 percent in that
 time frame, with Georgia leading the nation with a whopping
 increase of 101.8 percent. West Virginia led the nation in terms of
 an overweight population, with an obesity rate of 22.9 percent.
 	   Two culprits were suspected for the change: urban sprawl and
 heat.
 	   Many experts in Georgia blamed the extra pounds on modern
 suburbs, with no sidewalks to encourage walking and long commutes
 forcing residents to spend hours in their cars instead of
 exercising.
 	   ``Atlanta is not a walkable community. We don't have sidewalks
 that lead anywhere,'' said Pam Wilson, a dietitian with the Georgia
 division of public health. ``Even if we do find a sidewalk, they
 dead-end into an eight-lane highway.''
 	   The period measured in the study coincides with a time of rapid
 population growth around Atlanta. In 1991, Georgia had one of the
 lowest obesity rates in the country.
 	   Dr. William Dietz, a co-author of the CDC study, said the sprawl
 around Atlanta keeps people trapped in their cars for hours,
 encourages them to eat quick meals of greasy fast food and prevents
 them from having enough time to exercise.
 	   ``People in Atlanta drive more than in any other urban area in
 the country,'' he said. ``Community redesign may foster higher
 levels of activity and go a long way in preventing obesity.''
 	   Others blamed Southern weather, saying the summers are too hot
 for people to get outside. The lowest obesity rates in the nation,
 by comparison, were in New England and in the West, where people
 are more active and the weather is cooler.
 	   ``If they don't get out in the morning, they don't exercise,''
 said Harry DuVal, director of the University of Georgia fitness
 center. ``They go in and find air conditioning.''
 	   ``It all adds up to a very unhealthy lifestyle,'' added Wilson.
 	   The CDC study, which is included in today's issue of Journal of
 the American Medical Association, was based on telephone surveys of
 more than 100,000 participants each year between 1991-98.
 	   Younger adults, people with some college education and Hispanics
 showed the most drastic increases, but ``a steady increase was
 observed in all states; in both sexes; across age groups, races,
 educational levels; and occurred regardless of smoking status,''
 the study found.
 	   Overall, the population of obese men and women in the United
 States increased from 12 percent in 1991 to 17.9 percent last year,
 according to the CDC survey, which said that figure might be
 conservative.
 	   Another study in the journal attributed an estimated 280,000
 deaths a year to being overweight, but said the figure could be
 more than 374,000.
 	   Being overweight has been strongly associated with greater risk
 of certain illnesses, including heart disease, high cholesterol and
 blood pressure, diabetes, stroke and some cancers.
 	   CDC Director Jeffrey P. Koplan said a national strategy is
 needed to combat obesity. He called for workplaces offer healthier
 foods and exercise facilities, more sidewalks and bike paths, and
 encouraging children to play outdoors instead of watching TV or
 using computers.
 	   ``In general, restoring physical activity to our daily routines
 is critical.''