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"  Here&amp;#039;s an interesting dispatch from the world of public health: Maybe smoking isn&amp;#039;t the unmitigated health disaster you thought it was. Well, at least not entirely. As we all well know, America is getting fatter. There are about 1.5 million newly obese Americans this year alone; in 12 states, obesity rates are over 30 percent, and Colorado is the only state with a rate below 20 percent. For these depressing statistics, we like to blame our increasingly sedentary lifestyles, processed foods, large portion sizes, and and the cheap, ready availability of empty calories. Which sounds good and all, except the National Bureau of Economic Research is out with a new working paper that suggests Americans owe their tubby physiques to more than just too much Dairy Queen and Dancing With The Stars. You know what&amp;#039;s actually making us fat? The fact that we quit smoking. That&amp;#039;s right, it appears that America&amp;#039;s decrease in smoking rates correlates more closely than any other factor studied with the rise of obesity. So, in other words, we&amp;#039;ve effectively traded diseases like lung cancer and emphysema for diabetes and gout. Happy Tuesday. [The Atlantic] "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.esquire.com/food-drink/food/a10960/smoking-obesity-rates-6463212/>