America is getting fat. Really fat. Really really fat. The Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation report that obesity rates have gone up in 23 states while dropping in none. In 30 states, obese and overweight children make up 30% of the younger population. The reason? We do not understand nutrition at all, evidenced by the cholesterol rich diets that bankrupt our longevity. Having a firm grasp on nutritional education is the only way to decrease the distance between our bellybuttons and spines.

Heart disease is the fever that obesity is running. In a 14-year prospective study by Circulation, middle-aged women with a Body Mass Index of more than 23 but less than 25 had a 50% increase in risk of nonfatal or fatal coronary heart disease, and men aged 40 to 65 years with a BMI of greater than 25 but less than 29 had a 72% increased risk. Body Mass Index is defined as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared. Calculate yours today.

Stroke and type-2 diabetes are also major risks that come along with unhealthy living. An even more recognizable risk is soaring healthcare costs. Dr. Jeff Levi, TFAH executive director, said: “Our health care costs have grown along with our waist lines.” According to the BBC, the “obesity epidemic” is a big contributor to the skyrocketing health care costs in the US. Epidemic? Obesity is not an epidemic, it isn’t a plague. Our mentalities and lack of nutritional education are the real disease.

The major contributors to our nation’s caloric count are Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, and West Virginia. Mississippi has the unpleasant rank of being the fattest state, holding a 32.5% adult obesity rate. There is also only one state that has an obesity rate under 20% – Colorado. This is alarming at a morbid level, especially when seeing that in 1991, not a single state had a rate above 20%. This indicates that we’re rushing disturbingly fast towards early expiration. There must be a change made immediately.

The recession is upsetting much of what we do. Nutritious food is costing more and more, along with everything else. But nutrition is not only about buying organic this and low fat that. It is about knowing how to prepare food healthily, how to know what vitamins and minerals are in what foods, and how to control the science of eating so that every meal and every moment is nutritionally maximized. Live life happy and healthy, starting today.