According to the latest Time magazine, not a single state in the union has an obesity rate of less than 20%—-and a thinner population is not on the horizon. An August 13th report from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention found that more than a third of U.S. adults were obese in 2011, and the number of states with a very high percentage of obese adults has reached 12. Whenever I read these kinds of statistics I am consumed with the question “why” has this happened and how fat will we get? If this is the path we are following than how we live is going to have to change. There will have to be bigger cars with larger seats, king size beds will only be good enough for one person, houses will have to be made with timbers that are strong enough to hold the weight of a small elephant. Fuel costs for travel will skyrocket. If the passengers on a plane exceed the weight in the cargo hold then how will the plane get off the ground? And what will happen to the fashion industry? Forget the little shrink wrapped tops and short skirts and shoes with needle heels. The sidewalks will be pockmarked from the weight on the heels and let’s face it short skirts are not exactly an obese woman’s fashion fantasy. There might be a return to caftans and shrouds which certainly would be a lot more comfortable and have a lot more room for expansion. Okay, I’m being silly about some of the above, but the “why” of increased weight is a hot subject. Blame is placed on excessive sugary drinks, red meat, dairy, fat and a host of other foods. Lack of exercise is always seen as the culprit. And then there are those who believe they have found the “answer” by developing diets that remove the culprits, or create combinations that refer back to days of yore. There is the Paleo diet, the Hunter/Farmer diet, the 21 day Carb program. You name it, create it, swear that you lost weight, bingo you’re rich. Whatever happened to common sense. Farmers worked in fields all day, and hunters walked all day. The average person today has something they now call the “sitting disease”. If you don’t move, you don’t lose, and if you eat too much of anything you gain weight! However in my humble opinion the real culprit is stress. We are a nation of under nurtured, not undernourished individuals seeking comfort. And food has become the next best thing to soothing ourselves from the onslaught of being overwhelmed by our busy schedules. The mounting pressures of trying to keep up are not only adding to our guts but they are also reducing our ability to savor life.