F as in Fat: Did you make the grade?

August 27th, 2007

Did your state pass or fail?  According to a report by Trust for America’s Health (TFAH), obesity rates for 31 states have risen since last year.  Twenty two states experienced an increase for the second year in a row, while no states saw a decrease. 

Mississippi started off the list as the state with the highest rate of adult obesity in the country for the third year in a row and also the first state to reach an adult obesity rate of over 30 percent.  Colorado finished out the list as the leanest state in the country, even so, they still saw an increase in obesity rates as well.  Ten of the top 15 states with the highest obesity rates are in the South.  Could this be attributed to that good ole’ home cookin’?

South Carolina ranks fifth in the nation in the adult obesity epidemic at 27.8 % and seventh in the nation for childhood obesity at 18.9 %.  In 1991, none of the states had obesity rates that were above 20%, now 19 states have obesity rates exceeding 25 %.  According to Jeff Levi, PhD and Executive Director of TFAH, “poor nutrition and physical inactivity are robbing America of our health and productivity”. 

Read more about this report by Trust for America’s Health and see how your state measured up.  Also see the TFAH’s recommendations for combating the nation’s leading epidemic.

Entry Filed under: Healthy Lifestyle Research, Diabetes and Chronic Disease