Southeast U.S. continues to experience obesity issues

Among four adult age groups, the top-five lists for obesity are dominated by five states: Arkansas, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and West Virginia, which all appear three times each, according to a report on 2013 obesity rates produced by the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

At just below 40%, Mississippi and Louisiana were tied for the highest obesity rate among adults aged 45-64 years. Mississippi had the highest obesity rate for 26- to 44-year-olds at 37.8%, with Louisiana having the highest obesity prevalence for adults over age 65 at 30.5%. Arkansas had the highest rate among adults aged 18-25 years, the trust and foundation reported.

[DW] Five most obese states by age group, 2013

Of the five other states that appear on the list, four appear only for adults over age 65. The fifth, Oklahoma, had the fourth-highest obesity rate for adults aged 18-25 years, at 23.8%, the report showed.

West Virginia and Mississippi shared the highest overall obesity rate in the country, both at 35.1%, with Arkansas third at 34.6%. Of the 10 most obese states, 9 were in the Southeast, with Indiana – the ninth most obese state, with a prevalence of 31.8% – the only exception. The West and Northeast tended to have lower obesity rates than the Southeast and Midwest, with Colorado having the lowest obesity rate at 21.3%, Hawaii at 21.8%, and the District of Columbia at 22.9% None of the 10 least obese states appeared outside the West or Northeast, the report said.

The upward trend of obesity has seemed to slow in recent years, with only six states reporting a significant increase in obesity prevalence since 2012, compared with 2005, when only one state did not report an increase in obesity from the previous year. Some regions and groups have seen their obesity rates actually decline, particularly preschoolers from low-income families. However, people in black and Latino commmunities, as well as low-income adults, still have significantly higher obesity rates than higher-income white adults, the report stated.

The State of Obesity report used data collected by the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.

lfranki@frontlinemedcom.com