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Southern States Have Highest Obesity, Says CDC Report

Diabetes Health Staff

Sep 15, 2011

Obesity- Body Mass Index of 30 or More

A recent report from the US Centers for Disease Control says that 12 states now have adult obesity rates of 30 percent or higher. Seven of those states are in the South. The CDC data are from the Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance System, a 2010 phone survey of 400,000 US adults. Obesity is defined as a body mass index of 30 or more.

The state with the highest percentage of obese adults is Mississippi, at 34 percent. Colorado is the lowest, at 21 percent. Regionally, the South has the highest percentage of obese adults, at 29.4 percent; followed by the Midwest at 28.7 percent; the Northeast at 24.9 percent; and the West at 24.1 percent.

In 2000, no state reported an obesity rate above 25 percent. The 2010 results show that 35 states now have obesity rates above that figure. Results from the phone survey may actually not reveal the true extent of obesity because respondents tend to under-report their true weight.

Concern over obesity centers on its ill effects on the body, including the increased risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Adult Obesity Percentages by State:

Mississippi 34
West Virginia 32.5
Alabama 32.2
South Carolina 31.5
Kentucky 31.3
Louisiana 31
Texas 31
Michigan 30.9
Tennessee 30.8
Missouri 30.5
Oklahoma 30.4
Arkansas 30.1
Georgia 29.6
Indiana 29.6
Kansas 29.4
Ohio 29.2
Pennsylvania 28.6
Iowa 28.4
Illinois 28.2
Delaware 28
North Carolina 27.8
South Dakota 27.3
North Dakota 27.2
Maryland 27.1
Nebraska 26.9
Maine 26.8
Oregon 26.8
Florida 26.6
Idaho 26.5
Wisconsin 26.3
Virginia 26
Rhode Island 25.5
Washington 25.5
New Mexico 25.1
Wyoming 25.1
New Hampshire 25
Minnesota 24.8
Alaska 24.5
Arizona 24.3
California 24
New York 23.9
New Jersey 23.8
Vermont 23.2
Massachusetts 23
Montana 23
Hawaii 22.7
Connecticut 22.5
Utah 22.5
Nevada 22.4
District of Columbia 22.2
Colorado 21

Categories: BMI/ Body Mass Index, Centers for Disease and Control,obesity, Diabetes, Diabetes

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