Obesity rates are still going up, up, up! A new report looks at obesity per state and finds the number of obese adults has increased in 23 states and did not go down in any states in the past year. In other words, we are fatter now than we were a year ago.

The report – F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies Are Failing in America 2009 – comes from the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. It shows Mississippi has the highest rate of adult obesity at 32.5 percent – the fifth year in a row the state has topped the list. Colorado has the lowest rate of obese adults – 18.9 percent.

F as in Fat: Quick Stats

• Two-thirds of American adults are either obese or overweight.
• In 1991, no state had an obesity rate above 20 percent.
• In 1980, the national average for adult obesity was 15 percent.

State-by-State: Adult Obesity
1. Mississippi (32.5%)
2. Alabama (31.2%)
3. West Virginia (31.1%)
4. Tennessee (30.2%)
5. South Carolina (29.7%)
6. Oklahoma (29.5%)
7. Kentucky (29.0%)
8. Louisiana (28.9%)
9. Michigan (28.8%)
10. (tie) Arkansas (28.6%) and Ohio (28.6%)
12. North Carolina (28.3%) 13. Missouri (28.1%)
14. (tie) Georgia (27.9%) and Texas (27.9%)
16. Indiana (27.4%) 17. Delaware (27.3%)
18. (tie) Alaska (27.2%) and Kansas (27.2%)
20. (tie) Nebraska (26.9%) and South Dakota (26.9%)
22. (tie) Iowa (26.7%) and North Dakota (26.7%) and Pennsylvania (26.7%)
25. (tie) Maryland (26.0%) and Wisconsin (26.0%)
27. Illinois (25.9%)
28. (tie) Oregon (25.4%) and Virginia (25.4%) and Washington (25.4%)
31. Minnesota (25.3%)
32. Nevada (25.1)
33. (tie) Arizona (24.8%) and Idaho (24.8%)
35. Maine (24.7%)
36. New Mexico (24.6%)
37. New York (24.5%)
38. Wyoming (24.3%)
39. (tie) Florida (24.1%) and New Hampshire (24.1%)
41. California (23.6%)
42. New Jersey (23.4%)
43. Montana (22.7%)
44. Utah (22.5%)
45. District of Columbia (22.3%)
46. Vermont (22.1%)
47. Hawaii (21.8%)
48. Rhode Island (21.7%)
49. Connecticut (21.3%)
50. Massachusetts (21.2%)
51. Colorado (18.9%)

Our Nation’s Children

• The percentage of obese or overweight children is at or above 30 percent in 30 states.
• Mississippi also had the highest rate of obese and overweight children (ages 10 to 17) at 44.4 percent.
• Minnesota and Utah had the lowest rate at 23.1 percent.
• Eight of the 10 states with the highest rates of obese and overweight children are in the South.
• Childhood obesity rates have more than tripled since 1980.

State-by-State: Obese and Overweight Children Ages 10-17
1. Mississippi (44.4%)
2. Arkansas (37.5%)
3. Georgia (37.3%)
4. Kentucky (37.1%)
5. Tennessee (36.5%)
6. Alabama (36.1%)
7. Louisiana (35.9%)
8. West Virginia (35.5%)
9. District of Columbia (35.4%)
10. Illinois (34.9%)
11. Nevada (34.2%)
12. Alaska (33.9%)
13. South Carolina (33.7%)
14. North Carolina (33.5%)
15. Ohio (33.3%)
16. Delaware (33.2%)
17. Florida (33.1%)
18. New York (32.9%)
19. New Mexico (32.7%)
20. Texas (32.2%)
21. Nebraska (31.5%)
22. Kansas (31.1%)
23. (tie) Missouri (31.0%) and New Jersey (31.0%) and Virginia (31.0%)
26. (tie) Arizona (30.6%) and Michigan (30.6%)
28. California (30.5%)
29. Rhode Island (30.1%)
30. Massachusetts (30.0%)
31. Indiana (29.9%)
32. Pennsylvania (29.7%)
33. (tie) Oklahoma (29.5%) and Washington (29.5%)
35. New Hampshire (29.4%)
36. Maryland (28.8%)
37. Hawaii (28.5%)
38. South Dakota (28.4%)
39. Maine (28.2%)
40. Wisconsin (27.9%)
41. Idaho (27.5%)
42. Colorado (27.2%)
43. Vermont (26.7%)
44. Iowa (26.5%)
45. (tie) Connecticut (25.7%) and North Dakota (25.7%) and Wyoming (25.7%)
48. Montana (25.6%)
49. Oregon (24.3%)
50. (tie) Minnesota (23.1%) and Utah (23.1%)

The report says the tough economy could make the obesity epidemic even worse. Food prices, especially for more nutritious foods, are expected to go up, making it harder for families to eat a healthy diet. Plus rates of depression, anxiety, and stress – which are linked to obesity for many people – are also increasing because of the strain of the recession.

You can see the full report here.
Compare it to last year’s report here.

[Photo Credit: stockxpert]

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Despite public efforts to try to curb obesity, F as in Fat shows the epidemic is getting worse… much worse. The new report finds adult obesity went up in 37 states in the past year and is at more than 25 percent in more than half the states.

The fifth annual F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies Are Failing in America, 2008 from the Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) shows obesity rates went up for a second year in a row in 24 states and for a third consecutive year in 19 states. No state saw a decrease.

Although there have been many promising policies coming out to promote exercise and good nutrition across the country, the report says they are not being adopted or implemented at the levels needed to turn around this health crisis.

Changes over the years

1980: The national average of obese adults was 15 percent

1991: No state had an obesity rate above 20 percent

Now: About two-thirds of American adults are overweight or obese. About 23 million children are either overweight or obese. The maps below reflect the changes:

Diabetes is up, too
F as in Fat finds the rate of type 2 diabetes – a disease usually associated with obesity – went up in 26 states last year. Four states now have diabetes rates above 10 percent. All 10 states with the highest rates of diabetes and hypertension are in the South. The report also shows a link between poverty and obesity.

Fattest States
Mississippi tops the list of obese states. Other Southern states round off the Top 10, with the exception of Michigan.

Not as fat
Northeastern and Western states continue to have the lowest obesity rates.

The report recommends the federal government work with state and local governments, businesses, communities and schools to put a national strategy in place to tackle obesity.

What do you think needs to happen to reverse the obesity epidemic? I’ve profiled programs like Better School Food and Two Angry Moms recently for what they’re doing to try to help, and I will show you more programs in the coming weeks. I really believe it’s possible to see a change if more of us become involved. You in?

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The obesity epidemic is getting worse. A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows about 25.6 percent of adults in the U.S. are obese – up nearly two-percent from 2005.

More sombering news – the CDC says no state has yet to meet the national goal to reduce obesity rates to 15 percent or lower by 2010.

The report shows obesity is more prominent in the South, coming in at 27-percent. In the Midwest, it’s 25.3 percent; it’s 23.3 percent in the Northeast, and 22.1 percent in the West.

The fattest states – Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee – are all battling obesity rates of more than 30 percent. Colorado has the lowest rate at 18.7 percent.

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