Waistlines expanding fastest in the South

Chicago Tribune | Waistlines expanding fastest in the South: "Who would have guessed, y'all? There is a statistical correlation between being fat and living in the land of fried chicken, cornbread, grits with red-eye gravy, sweet iced tea, pecan pie, porch swings and Sunday afternoon naps.
The Trust for America's Health released a report Tuesday showing that obesity is rising like a buttermilk biscuit all across America, but folks are getting fatter fastest in the South.
The report ranked states according to their percentage of obese adults: 1. Mississippi. 2. Alabama. 3. West Virginia. 4. Louisiana. 5. Tennessee. 6. A tie between Texas, Kentucky and Michigan.
Indiana was 9th, South Carolina 10th, Arkansas 11th, Georgia 12th and North Carolina 16th. Kansas, Illinois and Virginia were tied at 22nd. Wisconsin was 28th.
Of the Southern states, only Florida was in the leaner half of the nation, ranking 38th.
The states that once comprised the Confederacy now make up a Corpulency. The region 'is almost like a canary in a coal mine. Waistlines are growing fastest [in the South]. But why is it happening there? I can't give you that answer,' said Shelley Hearne, executive director of Trust for America's Health, a non-partisan, non-profit organization with the stated goal of improving the health of Americans."