US Obesity Rates "Unacceptably High," According To Trust For America’s Health Report

Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online
For the first time ever, adult obesity rates have exceeded 35 percent in two US states, and no state in the country had obesity rates of less than 21 percent, according to the results of a new report released by the Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) on Thursday.
The study, entitled “The State of Obesity: Better Policies for a Healthier America,” found that Mississippi and West Virginia were tied with the highest adult obesity rate in America (35.1 percent), while the lowest was in Colorado (21.3 percent), TFAH official said in a statement.
The report also found that adult obesity rates increased in six states (Alaska, Delaware, Idaho, New Jersey, Tennessee and Wyoming) while not falling in any of them. Based on the study’s findings, obesity rates among American adults were now at or above 30 percent in 20 of the 50 US states.
Those findings are based on federal government data, Reuters explained, and suggest that the problem is growing worse in spite of the widespread publicity the issue has received in recent years from First Lady Michelle Obama and countless others.
From 2011 to 2012, the rate of obesity increased in just one state, the news organization added. As of 2013, 42 US states had adult obesity rates exceeding 25 percent, and at the national level, the obesity rate remained at approximately one-third of the entire adult population.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the highest prevalence of obesity regionally was in the South (30.2 percent), followed closely by the Midwest (30.1 percent). Third on the list was the Northeast (26.5 percent), with the West (24.9 percent) ranking fourth.
Childhood obesity rates remained steady with approximately one-third of children between the ages of 2 and 19 being overweight or obese in 2012, Reuters said. Higher obesity rates were also found in areas of poverty, which is associated with a decreased availability of healthy foods and a reduced number of safe places to use for exercise, and more African Americans (75 percent) were found to be overweight or obese than whites (67.2 percent).
“That pattern affects children, too. In 2012, just over 8 percent of African American children ages 2 to 19 were severely obese, with a BMI above 40, compared with 3.9 percent of white children. About 38 percent of African American children live below the poverty line, while 12 percent of white children do,” it added. “One-third of adults who earn less than $15,000 per year are obese, compared with one-quarter who earn at least $50,000.”
Among African Americans, adult obesity rates were at or above 40 percent in 11 states and 35 percent in 29 states, the report said. Rates of adult obesity among Latinos exceeded 35 percent in five states and 30 percent in 23 states, while adult obesity rates among whites topped 30 percent in 10 states.
Baby Boomers (those between the ages of 45 and 64) had the highest obesity rate of any age group, topping 35 percent in 17 states and 30 percent in 41 states, the study discovered. Furthermore, the percentage of severely obese adults in the US has quadrupled in the past three decades, with over six percent now meeting the criteria.
“Obesity in America is at a critical juncture,” said Dr. Jeffrey Levi, executive director of TFAH. “Obesity rates are unacceptably high, and the disparities in rates are profoundly troubling. We need to intensify prevention efforts starting in early childhood, and do a better job of implementing effective policies and programs in all communities – so every American has the greatest opportunity to have a healthy weight and live a healthy life.”
“While adult rates are stabilizing in many states, these data suggest that our overall progress in reversing America’s obesity epidemic is uneven and fragile,” added RWJF president and CEO Dr. Risa Lavizzo-Mourey. “A growing number of cities and states have reported decreases in obesity among children, showing that when we make comprehensive changes to policies and community environments, we can build a Culture of Health that makes healthy choices the easy and obvious choices for kids and adults alike.”
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