Obesity rates fall in 4 states, but overall rates remain high

Adult obesity rates decreased in four states, according to a new annual study. But with obesity increasing nationwide, there ’s still a lot of work to be done so that millions of Americans aren’t at an increased risk of diabetes and heart disease.A few signs of change There ’s a glimmer of good news on the adult obesity front this year: Minnesota, Montana, New York and Ohio saw rates decline between 2014 and 2015, according to the newly release study,The State of Obesity: Better Policies for a Healthier America. With the exception of a decline in Washington, D.C., in 2010, this is the first time in the past decade that any state has seen a decrease in its adult obesity numbers, according to the report by the Trust for America ’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. But the report says work to lower obesity rates is far from over, and notes that its findings are “an urgent call to action.”Obesity rates still high Adults in Kentucky and Kansas saw obesity rates rise between 2014 and 2015, the study showed. And, although other states saw rates remain stable, adult obesity rates remain above 30 percent in half the nation ’s states. In 2015, Louisiana had the highest adult obesity rate, at 36.2 percent; Colorado ranked the lowest with a 20.2 percent obesity rate, authors found. Keep in mind, though, that in 1991 every state ’s obesity rate was below 20 percent.“These new data suggest that we are making some progress, but there’s more yet to do,...
Source: AMA Wire - Category: Journals (General) Authors: Source Type: news