America, land of free, home of the lazy.

Just when we all thought America was on the road to fitness, a new study out of the Medical University of South Carolina shows that between 1988 and 2006, the amount of obese adults in our fair land has crept up by nearly one third.

The number of people who exercise three times a week fell from 53% to 43% and the amount of people eating five servings of fresh produce daily fell a whooping 40%.

According to the BBC:

Overall, researchers found, the number of people adhering to all five "healthy habits" - including maintaining a healthy weight and stopping smoking - decreased from 15% to 8%.

This drop "demonstrates that the amount of emphasis by the current health system on prevention and healthy lifestyles may be insufficient," wrote lead author Dana King.

"The implications of the decreasing rates of healthy lifestyle habits include the possibility of an upswing in cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, and increase in the number of aging persons with disability and decreased quality of life due to the burden of chronic disease."

I thought that when McDonald's ended super-sizing, we might have turned a corner. I guess not. But more importantly, I want to know why I found out about this study from the BBC -- the British Broadcasting Corporation. What is it with Europe and their lame schadenfreude when it comes to America's health issues? Just leave us alone and let us eat our Twinkies in peace!