Obesity Statistics in the United States

Obesity Statistics in the United States

Did you know?

 “Arkansas now has the highest adult obesity rate in the nation, according to The State of Obesity: Better Policies for a Healthier America. Arkansas's adult obesity rate is currently 35.9 percent, up from 21.9 percent in 2000 and from 17.0 percent in 1995. U.S. adult obesity rates remained mostly steady — but high — this past year, increasing in Kansas, Minnesota, New Mexico, Ohio and Utah and remaining stable in the rest. Rates of obesity now exceed 35 percent in three states (Arkansas, West Virginia and Mississippi), 22 states have rates above 30 percent, 45 states are above 25 percent, and every state is above 20 percent. Arkansas has the highest adult obesity rate at 35.9 percent, while Colorado has the lowest at 21.3 percent.”

What can be done?

“According to the 2015 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS), 13.9 percent of high school students were obese, and an additional 16.0 percent were overweight.¹ The information from YRBSS is based on a survey of participating states and uses self-reported information. State obesity rates among high school students ranged from a low of 10.3 percent in Montana to a high of 18.9 percent in Mississippi, with a median of 13.3 percent. CDC's Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity focuses on the obesity epidemic, improving nutrition and increasing physical activity. DNPAO tracks and analyzes obesity, nutrition and physical activity trends at national, state and local levels, and studies and promotes best practices for effective strategies and programs.”

“In FY 2013 and FY 2014, DNPAO was able to provide funding to all 50 states, including $16.7 million for obesity prevention. Currently, CDC does not have sufficient or sustained funds to maintain obesity prevention activities or to build upon or scale effective programs. In addition, DNPAO works on a series of obesity prevention priority initiatives, including breastfeeding, early child care education, and a "high-risk" program that provides $5 million in competitive grants to communities where obesity rates are above 40 percent. As priority initiatives have been created, DNPAO's total budget has only grown slightly from $47.5 million in FY 2013 to $49.5 million in FY 2014. This has functionally resulted in a cut of 21 percent in funding to support its core activities.”

Reference:

Retrieved from State of Obesity. http://stateofobesity.org/policy/communities-and-healthy-weight/centers-for-disease-control-and-prevention-winnable-battle