A New Report Says Americans Are Gaining Weight and Not Losing It
We're several years into a national mega-effort to drive down obesity rates, which includes an overhaul of school lunches and putting calorie and fat counts on fast food and restaurant menus. But here's some discouraging news: Not one state has managed to decrease the percentage of residents racking up a BMI of at least 30, which is the medical definition of obesity, according to a new state-by-state report published by The Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The report analyzed 2013 data from the annual Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, the largest ongoing telephone health survey in the world.
Even worse, obesity rates increased in six states: Alaska, Delaware, Idaho, New Jersey, Tennessee, and Wyoming. According to the new numbers, the percentage of obese residents in each of these states ranges from 26.3 percent (New Jersey) to 33.7 percent (Tennessee), and grew between 1.7 percent (New Jersey) and 4.2 percent (Delaware) between 2012 and 2013.
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Tennessee actually ranks fourth in obesity nationwide, with Mississippi (35 percent), West Virginia (35 percent), and Arkansas (34.6 percent) taking the top three slots.
On the bright side, Colorado has the lowest obesity rate, with just 21.3 percent of its residents scoring a BMI of 30 or higher. Hawaii, the District of Columbia, and Massachusetts snagged second, third, and fourth places respectively—each has less than a quarter of residents qualifying as obese. What’s amazing is that in 1990, the first year included in the report, no state had an obesity rate over 15 percent, according to the data.
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If you've been eating clean and working out to maintain a healthy weight, then take a well-deserved bow. If a healthier lifestyle has been more of a struggle, try not to let the latest news demoralize you. It's never too late to get on the right track—as these inspiring weight-loss success stories from Women's Health readers demonstrate:
How One Woman Lost More Than 120 Pounds—And Found Her True Calling
How One Woman Went From 200 to 145 Pounds and Changed Her Life
"I'm So Proud of How Far I've Come": How One Woman Lost 150 Pounds
"I Feel Stronger Than I Ever Have Before!"
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