The obesity rate was at or above 30 percent in 22 states and was not below 21 percent in any state, the researchers found.
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Now, more than 30 percent of adults, almost 17 percent of 2- to 19-year-olds and more than 8 percent of children aged 2 to 5 are obese, the report found.
The State of Obesity finds that significant geographic, income, racial and ethnic disparities persist, with obesity rates highest in the South and among Blacks, Latinos and lower-income, less-educated Americans.
Increases were seen in Ohio, Kansas, Minnesota, New Mexico and Utah.
African American obesity rates are at least 30 percent in 42 states. The states with the highest obesity rates were mostly in the South and Midwest.
West Virginia has the second-highest rate of obesity among adults in the nation, according to a report released Monday.
Colorado once again was the best, coming in at 21.3 percent for a third straight year.
In Ohio, 11.7 percent of adults had diabetes past year , putting the state in the ninth-worst slot nationwide.
Though the new data focus on adult obesity, the groups behind the effort emphasize the importance of focusing prevention efforts on children. “But, we still haven’t invested enough to really tip the scales yet”.
“We absolutely know that rates are higher in Appalachian counties and that certain populations are more impacted”, Wapner said.
Getting adults to lose weight is hard , but Lang says even just maintaining weight can help. The full report, with state rankings in all categories and updated interactive maps, charts and graphs, is available at http://stateofobesity.org.
On the plus side, obesity rates have remained the same in all but five states, Levi said.
Ohio came in with the eighth highest rate at 32.6%.
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Rich Hamburg is deputy director of Trust for America’s Health, which compiles the annual report. Texas (31.9); 12. Kentucky (31.6); 13. Trust for America’s Health also tracks obesity among children, ages 10 to 17.
