Hoosiers need to watch their weight By Amy Patterson, Journal and Courier Indiana is known for its basketball, farmland and overweight population. The consensus between health care experts is that Indiana is ranked third in the country, but the Indiana State Health Department could not verify a specific ranking. The department acknowledged Indiana has a high incidence of obesity and people who are overweight. We are, unfortunately. A person who has an excess of body weight compared to set standards is labeled overweight.
Obesity refers specifically to having an abnormally high proportion of body fat.
Obesity and being overweight are serious concerns because of the complications that develop from a poor diet and sedentary lifestyle. Obesity increases a person's risk of morbidity from hypertension, dyslipidemia, Type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, gall bladder disease, osteoarthritis, sleep apnea, respiratory and endometrial problems, breast, prostate and colon cancers. Teresa Pasdach, an American Council on Exercise certified personal trainer at the YWCA, said some overweight or obese people seem oblivious to the potential health risks of their lifestyle. Even when you tell them physically what's happening in their bodies, they want to overlook that. But Indiana isn't alone in its population packing on the pounds.