Sixteen out of the 50 U.S. states have gotten fatter according to a new report released this week. Thus, obesity rates in a dozen states have risen about 30% with Mississippi being the largest state in the commonwealth overall.
Mississippi has an adult obesity rate of 34.4% and Colorado is winning with a rate of 19.8% obesity level overall, being the only state with an adult obesity rate below 20%. Four years ago, only one U.S. state had an adult obesity rate above 30%, according to the report.
The study also explained that over the past 15 years, seven states have doubled their rate of obesity and 10 states have doubled their rate of diabetes, and since 1995, obesity rates have risen fastest in Oklahoma, Alabama and Tennessee, while Colorado, Connecticut and Washington, D.C., had the slowest increases.
This somewhat coincides with a similar study presented by Men’s Health Magazine last month that listed Jackson, Mississippi as the third least active city in The Union.
Lexington, Kentucky, with its really blue bluegrass, world class horse farms and home of the University of Kentucky Wildcats, ranks as the absolutely laziest city in the United States.
Indianapolis in Indiana and Jackson, Mississippi also ranked among the least active, while Seattle, San Francisco and Oakland, California were the most physically active.
Editors looked at how often residents exercise, the number of households that watched 15 hours of cable television a week and bought more than 11 video games a year, and the rate of DVT, a blood clot in a vein, usually in the leg, which is associated with inactivity. The clot can block blood flow and cause swelling and pain. When a clot breaks off and moves through the bloodstream, this is called an embolism. An embolism can get stuck in the brain, lungs, heart, or other area, leading to severe damage.
Here just below are the full lists released by Men’s Health Magazine. These are the last ten and top ten out 100 ranked.
Least Active:
- Lexington, KY
- Indianapolis, IN
- Jackson, MS
- Charleston, WV
- Oklahoma City, OK
- Tulsa, OK
- Little Rock, AR
- Nashville, TN
- Laredo, TX
- Birmingham, AL
Most Active:
- Seattle, WA
- San Francisco, CA
- Oakland, CA
- Washington, DC
- Salt Lake City, UT
- Reno, NV
- Portland, ME
- Atlanta, GA
- Denver, CO
- Minneapolis, MN
Matt Marion, deputy editor of Men’s Health explains:
‘What hurt Lexington most was the actual amount of activity, or exercise, people reported engaging in, or any physical activity at all, which was relatively low. They did have higher rates of deaths from deep vein thrombosis (DVT) as well. When we crunched the numbers Lexington finished at the bottom.”
Southern cities dominated the least active metropolises. Tulsa and Oklahoma City, also scored a low grade, as did Birmingham, Alabama, Laredo in Texas, Nashville, Little Rock and Charleston, West Virginia.
Public health experts around the world have raised the alarm about exploding rates of obesity and many are promoting efforts that increase physical activity and encourage access to affordable, healthy food.
In the United States, where two-thirds of adults and nearly one third of children are obese or overweight the obesity epidemic is sending healthcare costs higher and threatening everything from worker productivity to military recruitment.
Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, chief executive of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation states the following:
“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.”
Sources: The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Men’s Health Magazine and
Written by Sy Kraft