WASHINGTON — Adult obesity rates have jumped in 28 states.
The numbers come from a new report, “F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America’s Future,” from the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. An average of 2007-09 data showed that 38 states have adult obesity rates above 25 percent. In 1991, no state had an obesity rate above 20 percent.
Colorado was ranked as the least obese state in the country, with an adult rate of 19.1 percent.
The report also highlights troubling racial, ethnic and geographic disparities. Adult obesity rates for blacks and Latinos were higher than for whites in at least 40 states and the District of Columbia.
Ten of the 11 states with the highest rates of obesity were in the South; Mississippi weighed in with the highest adult rate for the sixth year in a row, with 33.8 percent. Adults earning less than $15,000 annually were also significantly more likely to be obese than those earning $50,000 or more.
The District of Columbia was the only area to see a decline in adult obesity rates.
“This report shows that the country has taken bold steps to address the obesity crisis in recent years, but the nation’s response has yet to fully match the magnitude of the problem,” said Jeffrey Levi, executive director of Trust for America’s Health.
