The obesity rate in America is higher than ever. “Two thirds of American adults are obese or overweight,” reports the Trust for America’s Health report “F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies Are Failing in America, 2007.” Perhaps more disturbing is the finding that the percentage of overweight children ranges from a low of 8.5 percent in Utah to a high of 22.8 percent in Washington, d.c.

Eighty-five percent of Americans now believe that obesity is an epidemic, a related survey found.

The problem is rapidly growing. The “F as in Fat” report shows that adult obesity rates rose in 31 states since last year. No state had a decrease in adult obesity rates.

And all this despite weight-loss products and services being a $35 million annual industry.

“We find this report to be a devastating indictment,” says Dr. James Marks, senior vice president of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which funded the project. “We’re in the middle of a public health crisis that is still deteriorating rapidly, and we’re treating it like a mere inconvenience rather than the emergency it is.” Citing the discovery that the number of states whose obese residents make up over a quarter of the population has more than doubled in just two years, Dr. Mark says, “That’s not sending a wake-up call. We’re ringing the disaster alarm.”

“Poor nutrition and physical inactivity are robbing America of our health and productivity,” says Trust for America’s Health executive director Jeff Levi.

The solution to America’s obesity problem is healthful foods and physical exercise. Read the articles “The Clean Life” and “Health Laws” for more information on healthful living.