“Virginia was named the 30th most obese state in the country, according to the eighth annual F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America’s Future 2011, a report from the Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). Virginia’s adult obesity rate is 25.9 percent.”
Twenty years ago, “there wasn’t a single state that had an obesity rate above 15 percent, and now every state is above that,” said Jeff Levi, executive director of Trust for America’s Health, which compiled the report.
“We have seen a dramatic shift over a generation,” he added. “This isn’t just about how much people weigh, but it has to do with serious health problems like diabetes and hypertension. These are the things that are driving health care costs.”
Mississippi, where 34.4 percent of the people are obese, has the highest obesity rate. Colorado, with the lowest obesity rate of 19.8 percent, is the only state where the rate is less than 20 percent, the investigators found.
In the 2010 F as in Fat report, Virginia had a adult obesity rate of 25.5 and was ranked 32nd most obese state.
In the 2009 report, Virginia had an adult obesity rate of 25.4 and was ranked 28th most obese state.
The report also notes that:
-Fifteen years ago, Virginia had a combined obesity and overweight rate of 48.9 percent. Ten years ago, it was 56 percent. Now, the combined rate is 61.2 percent.
-Diabetes rates have doubled in ten states over the past 15 years. In 1995, Virginia had a diabetes rate of 5.2 percent. Now the diabetes rate is 8.3 percent.
-Fifteen years ago, Virginia had a hypertension rate of 21.8 percent. Now, the rate is 27.2 percent.
The list below, from the Report F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America’s Future, shows the percentage of obese adults in all 50 states:
