Americans Fatter in 37 States

(WebMD)  Millions of Americans are watching our countrymen compete in the Olympics. But fewer and fewer of us bear any resemblance to those lean, fit figures.

The latest annual state-by-state obesity rankings don't paint a pretty picture:

Number of states in which adult obesity rates went up: 37

Number of states in which adult obesity rates went down: 0

Number of states in which adult obesity rates went up for the third year in a row: 19

Percentage of population that is obese in Colorado, this year's least obese state: 18.4

Percentage of population that was obese in the four most obese states in 1991: 15% to 20%

Number of states in which at least 1 in 4 adults is obese: 28

Number of states in which at least 1 in 5 adults was obese in 1991: 0

These are just a few of the shocking numbers in the fifth annual "F as in Fat" report from the nonprofit Trust for America's Health, with funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Senior author of the report is Jeffrey Levi, PhD, executive director of Trust for America's Health and associate professor of health policy at George Washington University School of Public Health.

The report's state-by-state rankings find Mississippi, West Virginia, and Alabama to be the most obese states. Colorado, Hawaii, and Connecticut are the least obese states -- yet Colorado's obesity rate continues to climb toward 20% of adults, a level already surpassed by Hawaii and Connecticut.

"The crisis is getting worse," Levi said at a news conference. "The 2008 report shows some states and communities have taken positive steps, but overall we are not treating the obesity epidemic with the seriousness it deserves."

The most shocking figure in last year's report was that more than 30% of Mississippi adults were obese. This year, Mississippi's problem is even worse -- and now Alabama and West Virginia have adult obesity rates over 30%.

Obesity in the U.S. is less like a rising tide than like a hurricane surge, suggests James Marks, MD, MPH, senior vice president and director of the health group at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

"This is the fifth annual report, and with each and every year we see more evidence the obesity epidemic is gaining speed and destructive force," Marks said at the news conference.

Levi and Marks stress that a change in direction will take serious efforts from federal, state, and local governments; from corporations and small businesses; from communities; and from individuals. But they say none of this can come together without leadership from the top.

Without increased federal funding, Marks says, state and local programs will be hard pressed to continue effective programs.

"The resources devoted to improving the health of our families and our children remain too few and too ineffective," Marks said. "The federal government continues to cut its own effective programs. At the federal level, the only obesity number going down is the number of dollars being spent to end the epidemic."

State-by-State Adult Obesity Rankings


Here's a list of states and their three-year average of adult obesity from 2005 to 2007:

Alabama: Rank, 3 -- 30.1% of adults obese

Alaska: Rank, 14 -- 27.3% of adults obese

Arizona: Rank, 38 -- 23.3% of adults obese

Arkansas: Rank, 8 -- 28.1% of adults obese

California: Rank, 41 -- 23.1% of adults obese

Colorado: Rank, 51 -- 18.4% of adults obese

Connecticut: Rank, 49 -- 20.8% of adults obese

Delaware: Rank, 21 -- 25.9% of adults obese

D.C.: Rank, 43 -- 22.1% of adults obese

Florida: Rank, 38 -- 23.3% of adults obese

Georgia: Rank, 11 (tied with Indiana) -- 27.5% of adults obese

Hawaii: Rank, 50 -- 20.7% of adults obese

Idaho: Rank, 31 -- 24.6% of adults obese

Illinois: Rank, 26 -- 25.3% of adults obese

Indiana: Rank, 11 (tied with Georgia) -- 27.5% of adults obese

Iowa: Rank, 19 -- 26.3% of adults obese

Kansas: Rank, 23 -- 25.8% of adults obese

Kentucky: Rank, 7 -- 28.4% of adults obese

Louisiana: Rank, 4 -- 29.5% of adults obese

Maine: Rank, 34 -- 23.7% of adults obese

Maryland: Rank, 27 -- 25.2% of adults obese

Massachusetts: Rank, 48 -- 20.9% of adults obese

Michigan: Rank, 10 -- 27.7% of adults obese

Minnesota: Rank, 30 -- 24.8% of adults obese

Mississippi: Rank, 1 -- 31.7% of adults obese

Missouri: Rank, 13 -- 27.4% of adults obese

Montana: Rank, 45 -- 21.7% of adults obese

Nebraska: Rank, 18 -- 26.5% of adults obese

Nevada: Rank, 35 -- 23.6% of adults obese

New Hampshire: Rank, 35 -- 23.6% of adults obese

New Jersey: Rank, 42 -- 22.9% of adults obese

New Mexico: Rank, 38 -- 23.3% of adults obese

New York: Rank, 37 -- 23.5% of adults obese

North Carolina: Rank, 16 -- 27.1% of adults obese

North Dakota: Rank, 21 -- 25.9% of adults obese

Ohio: Rank, 17 -- 26.9% of adults obese

Oklahoma: Rank, 8 -- 28.1% of adults obese

Oregon: Rank, 29 -- 25.0% of adults obese

Pennsylvania: Rank, 24 -- 25.7% of adults obese

Rhode Island: Rank, 46 -- 21.4% of adults obese

South Carolina: Rank, 5 -- 29.2% of adults obese

South Dakota: Rank, 20 -- 26.1% of adults obese

Tennessee: Rank, 6 -- 29.0% of adults obese

Texas: Rank, 15 -- 27.2% of adults obese

Utah: Rank, 44 -- 21.8% of adults obese

Vermont: Rank, 47 -- 21.1% of adults obese

Virginia: Rank, 27 -- 25.2% of adults obese

Washington: Rank, 32 -- 24.5% of adults obese

West Virginia: Rank, 2 -- 30.6% of adults obese

Wisconsin: Rank, 25 -- 25.5% of adults obese

Wyoming: Rank, 33 -- 24.0% of adults obese

State-by-State Child Obesity Rankings

Here is an alphabetical list of states with rankings for child obesity (ages 10-17) in 2003-2004:

Alabama: Rank, 11 -- 16.7% of children obese

Alaska: Rank, 44 -- 11.1% of children obese

Arizona: Rank, 38 -- 12.2% of children obese

Arkansas: Rank, 12 -- 16.4% of children obese

California: Rank, 32 -- 13.2% of children obese

Colorado: Rank, 49 -- 9.9% of children obese

Connecticut: Rank, 37 -- 12.3% of children obese

Delaware: Rank, 19 --14.8 % of children obese

D.C.: Rank, 1 -- 22.8% of children obese

Florida: Rank, 21 -- 14.4% of children obese

Georgia: Rank, 12 -- 16.4% of children obese

Hawaii: Rank, 29 (tied with Maryland and Pennsylvania) -- 13.3% of children obese

Idaho: Rank, 47 (tied with Minnesota) -- 10.1% of children obese

Illinois: Rank, 14 -- 15.8% of children obese

Indiana: Rank, 15 -- 15.6% of children obese

Iowa: Rank, 35 -- 12.5% of children obese

Kansas: Rank, 24 -- 14.0% of children obese

Kentucky: Rank, 3 -- 20.6% of children obese

Louisiana: Rank, 9 -- 17.2% of children obese

Maine: Rank, 34 -- 12.7% of children bese

Maryland: Rank, 29 (tied with Hawaii and Pennsylvania) -- 13.3% of children obese

Massachusetts: Rank, 27 -- 13.6% of children obese

Michigan: Rank, 20 -- 14.5% of children obese

Minnesota: Rank, 47(tied with Idaho) -- 10.1% of children obese

Mississippi: Rank, 8 -- 17.8% of children obese

Missouri: Rank, 15 -- 15.6% of children obese

Montana: Rank, 44 -- 11.1% of children obese

Nebraska: Rank, 41 -- 11.9% of children obese

Nevada: Rank, 36 -- 12.4% of children obese

New Hampshire: Rank, 33 -- 12.9% of children obese

New Jersey: Rank, 26 -- 13.7% of children obese

New Mexico: Rank, 10 -- 16.8% of children obese

New York: Rank, 18 -- 15.3% of children obese

North Carolina: Rank, 5 -- 19.3% of children obese

North Dakota: Rank, 39 -- 12.1% of children obese

Ohio: Rank, 22 -- 14.2% of children obese

Oklahoma: Rank, 17 -- 15.4% of children obese

Oregon: Rank, 23 -- 14.1% of children obese

Pennsylvania: Rank, 29 (tied with Hawaii and Maryland) -- 13.3% of children obese

Rhode Island: Rank, 41 -- 11.9% of children obese

South Carolina: Rank, 7 -- 18.9% of children obese

South Dakota: Rank, 39 -- 12.1% of children obese

Tennessee: Rank, 4 -- 20.0% of children obese

Texas: Rank, 6 -- 19.1% of children obese

Utah: Rank, 51 -- 8.5% of children obese

Vermont: Rank, 43 -- 11.3% of children obese

Virginia: Rank, 25 -- 13.8% of children obese

Washington: Rank, 46 -- 10.8% of children obese

West Virginia: Rank, 2 -- 20.9% of children obese

Wisconsin: Rank, 28 -- 13.5% of children obese

Wyoming: Rank, 50 -- 8.7% of children obese


By Daniel DeNoon
Reviewed by Louise Chang
©2005-2008 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved

[tootall10142]

I counted 57 obese woman walking into a k.f.c the other day and thier kids were way over weight.These people are killing thier kids.There are so many child abuse laws on the books but not one that makes it a jailable offense to feed your kids to death.Parents that do this may in fore sight love thier kids but they are actually loving them to a life of pain bad health and bad mental health from the ridicule they get from other kids.until they gey home and mommy says go wash up for dinner and get in the car we are to have pizza tonight will that cheer you up?Social security may be in bind righy now but the up coming generation will pay in all thier working life and then die from heart disease in thier 30s or even for dome in thier twenties. So rest easy all you healthy eaters youre retirement is being proped up by a generation that will collect it.When they become obese and cant walk or wipe thier asss without help.they are closer to the graveyrad and will leave a slot on the welfare roll for the off spring of the next child killer.

[libsluv2spit]

and they are worried of rising price of food..SPOILED!!

[sly_64]

These people are definatley not busy. But then again, I don''t eat much regardless. The food portions they serve everywhere are way out of hand. I can''t finsh a footlong sub. And I''m a 43 yr old man, 162lbs

[rotiprata-2009]

i happen to be obese, but i''m working on it.

i have to agree with skinnyminny2. it''s easy to buy healthy, inexpensive ingredients. they''re just not things that all people want to eat. most dried legumes are very inexpensive, and a lot of vegetables are as well. my local supermarket has a lot of greens right now for 69 cents a pound. i stocked up on collards, turnip, and mustard greens. many times, ethnic grocery stores have inexpensive, healthy items too. we have a mexican grocery store chain that invariably has chicken legs or thighs for less than a dollar a pound.

i work 50 hours a week and do all the cooking for my household. i find that especially in summer, it''s easy to grill a little extra, and have meals for a few days. also, a slow cooker is great for bean dishes, many of which can be made very low fat, but tasty, and inexpensively.

a pack a lunch most days that i work, but most of my coworkers (fat or otherwise) go out to eat, and eat ***. they spend 6-12 dollars on lunch every day, and my cost ends up being less than $4, including energy costs.

if only i can stay motivated to keep being active, i might have a chance with this weight too.

[wl7bzh]

Posted by toldyouso12 at 06:17 AM : Aug 21, 2008
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Posted by kc9cvr at 07:06 PM : Aug 20, 2008
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Both of your arguments that the cheapest food is the least healthy is bogus.

Beans, lentils, corn and other non-processed foods are much cheaper than the processed junk foods.

The issue is one of cultural diversity and what each ethnic group considers an acceptable diet.

[avigil2]

While I acknowledge that some obese people can''t exercise regularly due to serious health issues, most Americans are just lazy. Get off from your couch and hit the gym, park, bike lanes, whatever. Just quit getting so frickn'' fat. It''s embarrassing.

[skinnyminny2]

Eating healthy is not expensive. One can get dry lentils or beans very cheaply, and even frozen vegetables can be found on sale for decent prices. Taking one night a week to plan and prepare cuts down on preparation time. I really don''t care who is fat and who isn''t, I don''t know those people so why should I care? It only bgs me when they complain about being fat and then do nothng about it.

[skinnyminny2]

Eating healthy is not expensive. One can get dry lentils or beans very cheaply, and even frozen vegetables can be found on sale for decent prices. Taking one night a week to plan and prepare cuts down on preparation time. I really don''t care who is fat and who isn''t, I don''t know those people so why should I care? It only bgs me when they complain about being fat and then do nothng about it.

[ddaryl1]

the fact is eating healthy is expensive. Fruits and vegetables and good lean meats can eat up a budget. Especially for lower income people.

Also so many people work 50 - 60 hours a week, and eating helathy usually requires preperation. I know after I put in a 50 hours week and then come home and work around the house some I don''t want to be bothered prepping a good wholesome healthy meal.

This issue go much further then just personal choice, it is being driven by capitalism/inflation,wage stagnation, and of course personal choice

If people are making more money and working less or have a spouse / loved one who doesn''t have ot work full time too, then we would see people being better able to plan better meals, and eating better IMO.

Our society has alot to do with this, and someday those who deny this and just say dumb things like "these people are choising to be fat so let them" might actually be able to concieve how it all has causee and effect...

[skinnyminny2]

Why do they insist on reporting this? People are choosing to be fat, so let them! They buy, chew and swallow. Only they decide what goes in their mouths. I choose to eat whole natural foods, run a lot and be skinny. Everyone has this power and ability, they only need to choose to use it. And don''t tell me people are ''too uneducated'' to know fried or sugary stff is bad for ''em.