Aug. 20, 2008
Americans Fatter in 37 States
State-by-State Ratings Show Waistlines Still Widening
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(CBS/AP)
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Interactive Diet And Nutrition Are you eating right? See the government's guidelines, calculate your body mass index and quiz yourself on healthy food choices.
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The latest annual state-by-state obesity rankings don't paint a pretty picture:
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.
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- 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.
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- and they are worried of rising price of food..SPOILED!!
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- 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
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- 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. - Reply to this comment
- 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. - Reply to this comment
- 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.
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- 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.
- Reply to this comment
- 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.
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- 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... - Reply to this comment
- 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.
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