New ‘state-by-state’ obesity data released in U.S.

By Dr. Ananya Mandal, MDJul 14 2011

A new report called ‘F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America's Future 2011’ from the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, shows that Massachusetts has one of the lowest obesity rates in the nation even as obesity rises across the Bay State.

Mississippi, Alabama, West Virginia, Tennessee, Louisiana, Kentucky and Oklahoma top the list at 31 percent. Connecticut, stands at 21.8 percent, the District of Columbia at 21.7 percent and Colorado at 19.8 percent obesity rates. Like other states with low obesity rates, Massachusetts also ranks highly for adult fruit and vegetable consumption.

However the report also shows that Massachusetts residents have experienced a dramatic weight gain in the past 15 years, the report shows. The obesity rate in the Commonwealth has almost doubled since 1995, when just 11.6 percent of adults were obese. Even in the past two consecutive years, the obesity rate has risen significantly. Alongside increased body weight, rates of diabetes and hypertension and other chronic diseases related to obesity are also on the rise.

Racial and ethnic minority adults, and those with less education or who make less money, continue to have the highest overall obesity rates. It was seen that adult obesity rates for Blacks topped 40 percent in 15 states, 35 percent in 35 states, and 30 percent in 42 states and D.C. Also rates of adult obesity among Latinos were above 35 percent in four states (Mississippi, North Dakota, South Carolina, and Texas) and at least 30 percent in 23 states. Meanwhile, rates of adult obesity for Whites topped 30 percent in just four states (Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee, and West Virginia) and no state had a rate higher than 32.1 percent. Nearly 33 percent of adults who did not graduate high school are obese, compared with 21.5 percent of those who graduated from college or technical college. More than 33 percent of adults who earn less than $15,000 per year were obese, compared with 24.6 percent of those who earn at least $50,000 per year.

Former U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher who wrote the report said that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that 110,000 Americans are killed each year by obesity. He said, “Not only that: obesity plays a role in many millions of cases of chronic illness, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, arthritis and cancer. Even when they don’t result in death, these ailments can make life painful and difficult for patients and their families.”

Executive Director of the Trust for America’s Health Jeff Levi spoke of Massachusetts in a statement, “Today, the state with the lowest obesity rate would have had the highest rate in 1995. There was a clear tipping point in our national weight gain over the last twenty years, and we can’t afford to ignore the impact obesity has on our health and corresponding health care spending.”

The report also emphasized the importance of state and federal policy in combating the obesity epidemic, not just individual behavior. “We must realize that our predicament cannot be solved through individual action alone,” Satcher wrote in the report. “Both the public and private sector must pitch in to ensure that we live in a society where gaining weight becomes more difficult and maintaining a healthy weight becomes easier.”

“The information in this report should spur us all — individuals and policymakers alike — to redouble our efforts to reverse this debilitating and costly epidemic,” President and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Risa Lavizzo-Mourey added. “Changing policies is an important way to provide children and families with vital resources and opportunities to make healthier choices easier in their day-to-day lives.”

First lady Michelle Obama has tackled the issue with her "Let's Move" campaign, pushing for better school lunches, more access to fruits and vegetables and more physical activity. And Congress last year passed a new law requiring school lunches to be healthier.