Mississippi leads nation in obesity
No state beat Mississippi in rates of adult obesity in 2011 according to the 2011 CDC state obesity map released Monday.
Image/CDC
Rates of obesity in the United States ranged from a low of 20.7 percent in Colorado to 34.9 percent in Mississippi. No state had a prevalence of adult obesity less than 20 percent, and 12 states (Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, and West Virginia) had a prevalence of 30 percent or more.
As far as regions of the country, the South had the highest prevalence of obesity (29.5%), followed by the Midwest (29.0%), the Northeast (25.3%) and the West (24.3%).
The numbers are based on Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data.
The CDC reports that obesity is related to very serious condition like heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer, some of the leading causes of preventable death.
In addition, obesity is an expensive drain on the health care system. In 2008, medical costs associated with obesity were estimated at $147 billion; the medical costs for people who are obese were $1,429 higher than those of normal weight.
Public domain photo/FatM1ke via wikimedia commons
Health officials also report that obesity occurs higher or lower depending on race and socioeconomic status. For example, Non-Hispanic blacks have the highest age-adjusted rates of obesity (49.5%) compared with Mexican Americans (40.4%), all Hispanics (39.1%) and non-Hispanic whites (34.3%).
In general, those with higher incomes are more likely to be obese than those with low income.
Concerning estimates of obesity prevalence the CDC notes, because of these changes in methodology, estimates from 2011 forward cannot be compared to estimates from previous years. Data collected in 2011 will provide a new baseline for obesity prevalence data collected in subsequent years.
