Adult obesity rates remained high overall, increased in six states (Alaska, Delaware, Idaho, New Jersey, Tennessee and Wyoming) in the past year, and did not decrease in any. According to a new report [3], despite the plunge in McDonalds' Sales, rates of obesity now exceed 35% for the first time in two states, are at or above 30% in 20 states and are not below 21% in any. Mississippi and West Virginia tied for having the highest adult obesity rate in the United States at 35.1%, while Colorado had the lowest at 21.3%. Nine out of the 10 states with the highest obesity rates are in the South.
US Obesity goes from bad to disastrous over the next 15 years...
[4]
As Trust for America's Health reports, [3]
Findings reveal 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. The report also found that more than one in ten children become obese as early as ages 2 to 5.
Obesity rates remain higher among Black and Latino communities than among Whites:
- Adult obesity rates for Blacks are at or above 40 percent in 11 states, 35 percent in 29 states and 30 percent in 41 states.
- Rates of adult obesity among Latinos exceeded 35 percent in five states and 30 percent in 23 states.
Among Whites, adult obesity rates topped 30 percent in 10 states.- Nine out of the 10 states with the highest obesity rates are in the South.
- Baby Boomers (45-to 64-year-olds)* have the highest obesity rates of any age group – topping 35 percent in 17 states and 30 percent in 41 states.
- More than 33 percent of adults 18 and older who earn less than $15,000 per year are obese, compared with 25.4 percent who earn at least $50,000 per year.
- More than 6 percent of adults are severely obese; the number of severely obese adults has quadrupled in the past 30 years.
The Solution...
Recommendations, which were based on a series of in-depth interviews with public health experts in Black and Latino communities around the country, included:
Expanding access to affordable healthy foods and opportunities for physical activity by increasing resources for programs, connecting obesity-prevention initiatives with other ongoing community programs, and other approaches;
Providing education and addressing cultural differences to both improve people’s knowledge about nutrition and physical activity and make initiatives more relevant to their daily lives; and
Making sustainability, community input, involvement and shared leadership top priorities of obesity-prevention initiatives from the outset.
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What is perhaps most worrisome, as we noted previously, [5] is the implied cost of this growing obesity epidemic if these forecasts are even close to reality.
