This year, fair patrons can go way, way beyond the usual offerings of pizza and fried zucchini and indulge in deep-fried Kool Aid, deep-fried butter and beer-battered bacon. For dessert there are chocolate-covered corn dogs.

 

One in three Americans are obese and so are half their cats and dogs. Another third of Americans are overweight. Movie theater seats are six inches wider than they used to be and McDonald’s sells 75 hamburgers a second. A new study found the sperm count of male subjects categorized as overweight was 10% lower than normal. For men labeled obese, the sperm count was down 20%.

 

Americans have been inundated with data about how way too fat they are, how they got there and how they can lose the weight. First Lady Michelle Obama has made childhood obesity her signature cause and Dr. Phil never stops talking about it. Americans think they get it. Yet when asked if they engage in enough physical activity to improve their health, 40% say yes. Only 4% actually do. A Consumer Reports survey in January showed 90% of people think they eat a healthy diet.

 

But none of that deters foolhardy foodies at the San Diego Fair, with its hearty tradition of gut busting over-exuberance. In 2007, it was the Krispy Kreme Chicken Sandwich and Fried Twinkie. 2008 brought Fried Oreos and the 14-Inch Corn Dog to the table for consideration. Chocolate-Covered Bacon debuted in 2009 and last year Deep Fried Pop Tarts, Chocolate-Dipped Pickles and Deep Fried Klondike Bars made their mark on the San Diego menu and American waistline.  

 

-Noel Brinkerhoff, Ken Broder

 

Chocolate-Covered Corn Dogs and Other Delicacies (by Jill Harness, Mental Floss)

My 2011 San Diego Fair Food Pre-Game Show (by Aaron C., That Bootleg Guy)

Overweight Men Have Poorer Sperm Count (Agence France-Presse)

Infographic: Lots of Depressing Facts about How Fat America Is (Business Insider)

The Fat Map of America from 1985 to 2009 (Geekologie)

Central Heating May Be Making Us Fat (by Roni Caryn Rabin, New York Times)

Fast Stats (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)