Connecticut residents staying skinny, study finds

July 2, 2009
by MariAn Gail Brown
The Advocate

Connecticut has one of the lowest obesity rates in the country. But before anybody in this state jumps for joy, curb some of your enthusiasm. Part of the reason Connecticut looks so good is because the South looks THAT bad.

"Why does Connecticut seem so good? It's simple and it's relative: The South does poorly," said Dr. Stuart Zarich, chief of cardiovascular medicine at Bridgeport Hospital. "It's the food they eat. They have bad diets -- high fat, high carbohydrates."

Nevertheless, Zarich said, the results are not cause for public policymakers to become complacent.

"We've had waves of health consciousness, and what's happening now is we have an aging, fattening masses of baby boomers, some of whom will soon hit retirement and swell Medicare" rolls, Zarich said.

In essence, our expanding waistlines, he said, are canceling out many recent health gains -- from lower cholesterol levels, decreased rates of heart attack and stroke -- accomplished by medical research.

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