Seven US states have obesity rates of at least 35 percent, a new map has revealed.
More than one third of adults in Alabama, Arkansas, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma and West Virginia are dangerously overweight, according to the data released on Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
It’s a slight increase from 2016 when obesity prevalence was 35 percent or higher in five states.
Colorado fared relatively well with an obesity rate of just 22.6, while West Virginia has the worst rate at 38.1 percent.
Alabama, Arkansas, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma and West Virginia all have obesity rates at or above 35 percent, according to a new CDC map
Data came from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, which is a survey conducted via telephone by the CDC and state health departments.
In addition to having the highest obesity prevalence, West Virginia also led the nation in the percentage of adults with diabetes at 15.2.
West Virginia had the nation’s highest drug-overdose death rate in 2015 and was named in a Wallethub study as the least happy state in America.
The CDC report revealed the obesity rates increased as level of education decreased.
Adults without a high school degree had an obesity rate of 35.6 percent in comparison to 32.9 percent of adults with a high school degree, 31.9 percent of adults with some college and 22.7 percent of college graduates.
Discrepancies were also apparent among races. Obesity prevalence among black adults sat a 39 percent obesity rate compared to 32.4 percent among Hispanic adults and 29.3 percent for white adults.
Pollsters also found that middle-age adults were twice as likely to be obese as young adults.
Those between ages 18 and 24 have an obesity rate of 16.5 percent while the age 45 to 54 group has a rate of 35.8 percent.
‘The South and the Midwest were again the US regions with the highest prevalence of obesity, at 32.4 percent and 32.3 percent respectively.
Between 2012 and 2017, 31 states had significant increases in their obesity rates and six states – Iowa, Massachusetts, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island and South Carolina – had rates spike between 2016 and 2017.
Obesity is known as a risk factor for several chronic health conditions including type 2 diabetes, strokes, heart attack and even certain types of cancer.
Health officials say that addressing the obesity epidemic will not only lead to better health outcomes but also reduce medical costs.
In 2012, a study from Cornell University in New York found obesity accounts for about 21 percent of total US health care costs, approximately $190.2 billion per year.
Obesity continues to plague more than one-third of adults in the US, and experts have warned that that proportion will only grow as younger generations do.
Over the last two decades, the US has implemented countless awareness programs aimed at both adults and children to try to combat the obesity epidemic.
Former first lady Michelle Obama became a mascot for healthier children while her husband was in office, spearheading the ‘Let’s Move’ campaign, designed to motivate children to eat healthier and stay active in an effort to promote overall health.
In its report, the CDC called for strategies both on the federal level and state level to address the epidemic.
Some suggestions includes nutrition support programs for low-income households, states ensuring that children receive 60 minutes of physical activity per day, and hospitals no longer selling or serving sugar-sweetened beverages.