Dive Brief:
- A report by the Trust for American's Health, "The State of Obesity: Better Policies for a Healthier America," showed national adult obesity rates held steady over the past year.
- Arkansas leads the nation with a 35.9% adult obesity rate. Colorado is the lowest at 21.3%. There are now three states exceeding a 35% rate: Arkansas, West Virginia and Mississippi. Twenty-two states are at or above 30% and no states are below 21%. No state in 1980 had an obesity rate above 15%.
- Approximately 78 million Americans are obese, increasing their risk of heart disease, cancer and diabetes, as well as other health conditions.
Dive Insight:
Additional report findings showed obesity rates are 38% higher among African Americans and 26% higher among Latinos than Whites. More than 6% of adults are severely obese, a 125% increase over the past 20 years and more than 5% of children are severely obese by the ages of 6 to 11 years.
The report said it's more effective to prevent obesity in children than to try to reverse it later by promoting good nutrition and physical activity "so children enter kindergarten at a healthy weight."
Communities can help in the battle against obesity by making changes that help make it easier and affordable to buy healthy foods and be physically active. Programs such as improving school lunches, health screenings and walking programs can all help create healthier communities.
According to the National League of Cities, the estimated annual medical costs of obesity in the U.S. were $190.2 billion in 2010, representing 21% of annual medical spending. Businesses are affected by obesity-related job absenteeism ($4.3 billion annually). Both costs are expected to rise as obese children become obese adults.