Personal Injury Law

Americans Are Getting Fatter

By Jane Akre

Fattest Kids Are In Mississippi 

Americans in 23 states are reported to be fatter than they were one year ago.

That information comes from the nonprofit, Trust for America's Health, which released a report along with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Obesity is one factor that contributes to the increasing cost of health care as it is linked to heart disease, diabetes, some cancers, and arthritis.

The report finds that obesity rates did not drop in any single state, reports Reuters.

The fattest states are Mississippi, with nearly one-third of adults, and 44.4 percent of children ages 10 to 17 considered obese. West Virginia, Alabama, and Tennessee all have rates just above 30 percent for adult obesity.

Thinnest residents reside in the states of Colorado, at 18.9 percent; Massachusetts at 21.2 percent; and Connecticut at 21.3 percent.

Children obese or overweight weigh in at 30 percent nationwide. Overweight and obese adults account for 32.5 percent of the U.S population. Obesity along among adults exceeds 25 percent in 31 states.

By comparison, in 1991, not one state had an obesity rate above 20 percent.

Measure your status by checking your body mass index or BMI.  #

Full post as published by InjuryBoard on July 01, 2009 (boomark / email).