America: Hugest. Country. Ever.

As we unfurl the patriotic bunting under the 2nd story windows and over-decorate the driveway with our miniature American flags this 4th of July, let us keep in mind that the act of decorating is a good thing, for it is, in its small way, an act of physical exercise. And holy crap does America need it. The Consumerist reports today on the 2008 state-by-state obesity ratings calculated by CalorieLab, a website that "supplies a calorie calculator for generic foods, nutrition facts for brand name foods, a calorie counter for fast food chains, and nutritional information for table service restaurants." And the most obese states in the Union are? All deep-fried Southern with a sizable side of Rust-Belt. But that doesn't mean the rest of the country's off the hook. See for yourself: (Chart courtesy of CalorieLab). Save for Colorado, home of the quite trim David Sirota, and a few others, 1/4 or more of the population of almost every state in our country is obese. I don't think epidemic is too strong a word. By the way, in case you're looking for a way to burn calories that's a helluva lot more enjoyable than building a float, CalorieLab provides another chart calculating the amount of calories you can burn without ever leaving your bedroom.