WASHINGTON D.C. – Rhode Island is the 10th-least obese state in the country but its obesity rate has increased 90 percent from 15 years ago, according to the “F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America’s Future 2011.”
The report, published by the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation on Thursday, said that Rhode Island’s adult obesity rate is 24.3 percent as compared to 12.8 percent 15 years ago.
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Adult obesity rates did not decline in any state and increased in 16 states. The states with the highest obesity rates were: Mississippi, 34.4 percent, Alabama, 32.3 percent, and West Virginia, 32.2 percent.
Four years ago, only one state had an obesity rate of more than 30 percent, now twelve states surpass that benchmark.
The areas with the lowest obesity rates were: Connecticut: 21.8 percent, the District of Columbia, 21.7 percent, and Colorado, 19.8 percent.
“Today, the state with the lowest adult obesity rate would have had the highest rate in 1995,” said Jeff Levi, executive director of TFAH. “There was a clear tipping point in our national weight gain over the last 20 years, and we can’t afford to ignore the impact obesity has on our health and corresponding health care spending.”
Ten years ago, no state had an obesity rate above 24 percent; now 43 states have higher obesity rates than the state that was the highest in 2000, it said.
Other findings for Rhode Island include:
The study found that racial and ethnic minority adults, those with less education or those who make less money, have the highest overall obesity rates.
The report also made policy recommendations to prevent and control obesity, to see them click here.
