Country music and chicken, Beale Street and barbecue, Elvis and everything fried the State of Tennessee will always be famous for good music and good cooking. But our state is becoming known for something less pleasant lately: our sky-high obesity rate.

Obesity is no joke. It is a serious public health problem. Over 64% of the population of the Volunteer State is overweight or obese according to data compiled by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. 30.1% of the population of our state is obese, compared to 28.1 percent in 2006. Only Mississippi and Alabama rank higher. Thats right Tennessee is #3!

And when we consider that obesity can lead to life-threatening illnesses such as diabetes, cancer, heart conditions, and hypertension, we can see how serious a problem obesity truly is here in our home state.

But what is obesity? And how do we fight it?

Its a Disease

Obesity is not just being fat. It is a medical problem that is diagnosed, in part, according to a persons body mass index, or BMI. If your BMI is higher than 25, you are considered overweight; if its more than 30, you are clinically obese. (To calculate your own BMI, use this formula: BMI = weight in pounds x 703 / [height in inches]2 ).

But weight loss itself is not a cure for obesity. After all, anybody can lose weight like magic if they reduce their daily calorie intake below their bodys daily life-support needs. Once that happens, the body has no choice but burn its own fat to stay alive and weight loss magically results. Just decreasing the amount of food eaten each day (or increasing the level of daily physical activity) is enough to do the trick for many folks.

Of course its not that simple. Obesity is about more than just overeating. It is a medical condition that requires comprehensive medical care. Only those willing to completely change their lifestyle and eating habits will succeed in beating this disease. The good news is that most obesity sufferers can recover completely by means of a structured program of medically-supervised education and diet. The bad news is that some obesity sufferers are beyond the help of this standard treatment. For them, one option remains: weight loss surgery.

About Weight Loss Surgery

Weight loss surgery takes three main forms. During the operation, a surgeon alters the patients digestive tract in order to limit the amount of food he or she can physically consume. This change, plus comprehensive post-op diet and lifestyle changes, will inevitably cause the patients weight to drop, usually dramatically.

Happily, the procedure itself is not particularly complicated (it is generally performed laparoscopically, and always with the patient under general anesthesia), nor is it dangerous in most cases; however, as do all forms of surgery, it does entail risk, including the risk of premature death.

But weight loss surgery is not a magic cure-all. It is one part of a total medical treatment plan for obesity. Lack of adherence to post-op lifestyle and dietary change instructions may cause the patient to regain any weight lost and/or experience other undesirable health effects. Always make major medical decisions in consultation youre your physician.

Our Rich Future

Tennessee is state rich in history, music, and, yes, calories. A rib or two every now and then is fine, but our everyday lifestyle and diet have to change if we want to stay healthy. Common sense, medically-supervised treatment -- and weight loss surgery when necessary -- can make our proud Volunteer State a better home for all of us.