Obesity Getting Bigger In U.S.

It is well known that the U.S. has a pretty big obesity problem, but the increases in the problemover time, and even in the last year, are pretty shocking. According to a recent report called “F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America’s Future 2010,” adult obesity has increased in 28 states in the last year. Mississippi ranked #1, where 33.8% of adults are obese. Colorado (19.1%) is the only state where less than 20% of the population is obese, which is pretty telling of how drastically this problem is growing when you consider that in 1991, not one state had an obesity level over 20%.

Here are a few other highlights of the report:

The number of states where obesity rates exceed 30% has doubled in the past year, from four to eight -- Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and West Virginia. 10 of the 11 states with the highest rates of obesity, diabetes and hypertension (high blood pressure) are in the South. The number of adults who report they do not engage in any physical activity rose in 12 states in the past year. More than 12 million children and adolescents are obese. The percentage of kids engaging in vigorous physical activity daily ranges from a low of 17.6% in Utah to a high of 38.5% in North Carolina.

You can find the full list of rankings and other interesting findings from the report on WebMD.