We are getting fatter. And by we I mean Americans–some 26.7 percent of adults in the United States were obese in 2009. So, not only are our New Year’s resolutions to lose weight not working, but we’re actually gaining.

According to a report issued yesterday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2009 there were roughly 2.4 million more obese adults than in 2007–a hefty 72 million Americans in all were obese in 2009.

Unsurprisingly the report suggests increasing physical activity and improving access to affordable healthy foods. But, beyond the standard and obvious suggestions, I was pleasantly surprised that the report acknowledges breastfeeding as a means to combat obesity. Not only does breastfeeding help new mothers shed weight gained during pregnancy, but it has also been linked to reduced levels of obesity in adults and children.

Unfortunately tackling obesity is easier said than done. For many, the causes are intertwined with poverty. It is not always an option to eat healthier food, or to find the time to exercise. And, in many poor neighborhoods, stores selling healthy foods are simply not available. I still remember trying to scrounge together a moderately nutritious breakfast as I departed Auburn, Ill., during my cross-country walk. The only place open was the small store attached to the gas station–the town didn’t even have a grocery store. I asked the man who worked there if there was any fruit. He said they used to sell fruit, but the supplier decided it wasn’t worth his while because the location was so small. In the end I cobbled together a breakfast of granola bars, fruit juice and donuts–not exactly what you want to start your day when you plan to walk 20 miles.

The connection between poverty and obesity is complicated and seems to defy common sense. Yet, those living in poverty are more likely to be obese. In a column in Slate, Daniel Engber said it best: “Sickness, poverty, and obesity are spun together in a dense web of reciprocal causality. Anyone who’s fat is more likely to be poor and sick. Anyone who’s poor is more likely to be fat and sick. And anyone who’s sick is more likely to be poor and fat.”

The CDC report seems to make this connection as well. Beyond the connection between obesity and health, it found that those who are obese have medical costs that are $1,429 higher than those of normal weight. Further, recent estimates of the annual medical costs associated with obesity are as high as $147 billion.

Just where to start in tackling the problem can be daunting. And finger-pointing is no solution. On numerous occasions when I told people I was walking cross-country they told me they could barely walk from the parking lot to the location we were both standing. Now I suspect many people were exaggerating. But, for some, I doubt it was a stretch.

And so, if we are to find a solution to obesity, poor health and poverty, it needs to start somewhere. Perhaps it can start with one small step.

– By Jennifer E. Cooper