"calorielab" news and stories

CalorieLab recently released their list, which ranks US states from fattest to thinnest, for 2008. For the third year running, Mississippi is the fattest state in the nation, with 32.6 % of that state's population coming in overweight or obese. CalorieLab determines the fattest state rankings using the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System database maintained by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The rankings use a three-year average in order to correct for statistical irregularities.

Rounding out the top five fattest states are West Virginia, Alabama, Louisiana and South Caroline. They've found that overall the fattest states tend to be in the South and Rust Belt, while Northeastern and Western states are a bit slimmer. The only area to lose weight in the last year is Washington, D.C. Colorado remains the nation's fittest state.

It's disheartening to see that with all the attention given to diet and exercise, these numbers continue to climb. With the cost of food is going up these days, mostly in relation to rising gas prices, the cost of eating healthfully is also increasing. How would you address this issue?

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The Nathan's Famous annual hot dog eating competition is today at Coney Island, where all qualifying competitive eaters will stuff-their-faces off in pursuit of the yellow prize belt, a new world record and the chance to beat the number one ranked eater in the world, Takeru Kobayashi. Kobayashi's record stands at 53.5 hot dogs in 12 minutes. Nutritionally speaking, that comes out to be a week's worth of calories in those few minutes. Mark, who runs CalorieLab, sent me this intriguing nutritional label that breaks down exactly what the eaters will be trying to consume to break that record: 16,532 calories; 1,077 grams of fat (415g saturated); 1,605mg cholesterol and 36,596mg sodium. On the plus side, the eaters will be getting a fair amount of fiber, calcium and iron in those few minutes.

Check out the whole piece, with further details, at CalorieLab news.

As disturbed as I am at the thought of eating that much food in one sitting, I'm still curious to see who wins. Very curious. If I had to guess, I think that it will be Kobayashi again. I'm still pulling for the up-and-coming Joey Chestnut, whose participation will make for a very interesting match because he managed to set a new American record by eating 50 hot dogs in his qualifier.

Anyone else care to hazard any guesses about the winner?

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