This statistic is not based on land area. The quantity being measured is BMI(body mass index). BMI is a method of comparing a persons weight and height. It is calculated from the formula:

BMI = Weight (KG) / Height squared (m^2)

BMI is a widely used indicator of possible health risk as it relates to physical mass (how much space the human body actually takes up). A BMI of over 25 is associated with a higher risk of illness.

BMI does not take into account build, proportion of body fat, maturity level or other health factors (such as disease, genetic risk). Because of these limitations, BMI should not be the only indicator of a persons ideal weight.

Diabetes is caused by an imbalance of insulin, a hormone that stimulates the body’s cells into absorbing glucose from the blood. The researchers who conducted the study compared the size of people’s waists with other biological markers that are known predictors of insulin sensitivity, which often leads to insulin resistance. Insulin resistance is the cause of Type 2 diabetes, which makes up about 90 percent of all cases of diabetes and usually shows up in adults 40 years of age and older.

Diabetes can lead various heart and blood disorders that are responsible for about 50 to 80 percent of deaths of diabetics. Severe forms of the disease can lead to blindness, loss of limbs and kidney failure. In Type 2 diabetes, insulin is produced at insufficient levels or does not work efficiently, either because it is defective in some way or because the cells themselves have become resistant to it. The incidence of Type 2 diabetes has risen dramatically alongside obesity rates.

Almost 53 percent of California residents over the age of 25 are overweight, and more than 17 percent are obese, according to the study. The rates among Hispanics, blacks and adults with less than a high school education exceed 60 percent and the state has one of the fastest increasing rates of adult obesity in the country.

Overweight and inactive people cost California $21.7 billion a year in medical bills, injuries and lost productivity, based on the study’s estimates.

The state’s governor, former bodybuilder and action movie star Arnold Shwarzenegger, wants junk food taken out of schools and vending machines stocked with fresh vegetables, milk and other healthy food.