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Wyo 39th in adult obesity rankingWyo 39th in adult obesity rankingTuesday, July 20, 2010 By Wyoma Groenenberg A recent study reported that Wyoming is tied with Oregon for 39th place, with 25 percent, in the states' obesity rates for adults. Two-thirds of Americans are either overweight (with a body mass index of 25 or higher) or obese (a BMI of over 30), the study said. The information was released in a new report, "F as in Fat," which was issued by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Trust for America's Health. The report offers policy recommendations, specifically to coordinate the government's response to the continually rising obesity rate, according to a story on MSN Health & Fitness. The states with the best adult obesity rates are Colorado with 19.1 percent; Connecticut at 21.4 percent; District of Columbia, 21.5 percent; Massachusetts, 21.7 percent, and Hawaii at 22.6 percent. These states often offer many outdoor recreation activities and residents usually are wealthier and better educated. Mississippi topped the rankings for the sixth year in a row with a 33.8 percentage of obese adults, followed by Alabama and Tennessee at 31.6 percent; West Virginia with 31.3 percent, and Louisiana at 31.2 percent. Some experts link the rural South's obesity rate with poverty and low levels of education, which is true across the nation. James Marks, M.D., and senior vice president of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, told MSN, "The movement to reverse the epidemic is gathering force, but we are not yet seeing measurable improvement." Marks continued, "At the national level, it looks like the rise in childhood obesity has leveled off. We're hopeful that these first signs will be sustained or that we will start to see the numbers turn downward." While the foundation spends $100 million annually to fight obesity, the food industry outspends that amount quickly to market unhealthy foods just to children, the article said. See the report at http://healthyamericans.org/reports/obesity2010/Obesity2010Report.pdf. |
