The Top Fattest States: Guess Who Has Gotten Really Big

Posted on Jul 26th 2010 2:00PM by That's Fit Editors

Tim Sloan, AFP/Getty Images

Guess who has gotten really fat?

We have.

The adult obesity rate in more than two-thirds of the states has topped 25 percent, according to a report co-authored by the Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Don't shrug that off. "Back in 1991, not that long ago, not a single state had an obesity rate above 20 percent. There's been a dramatic change in a relatively short period," Jeff Levi, executive director of the Trust for America's Health, warned in a news conference. This makes obesity one of the biggest public health issues in the Untied States and one of the primary reasons health care costs have skyrocketed, reports HealthDay News.

The top 11 fattest states in the USA:
1. Mississippi
2. and 3. Alabama and Tennessee (tie)
4. West Virginia
5. Louisiana
6. Oklahoma
7. Kentucky
8. Arkansas
9. South Carolina
10. and 11. Michigan and North Carolina (tie)

The top 10 healthiest states in terms of weight:
1. Colorado
2. Connecticut
3. District of Columbia
4. Massachusetts
5. Hawaii
6. Vermont
7. Rhode Island
8. Utah
9. Montana
10. New Jersey

More facts to know and tell:

• For the sixth year in a row, Mississippi is the fattest state, with 33.8 percent of the adult population considered obese.

• Michigan is the only state in the top 11 fattest states that is not in the South, an anomaly perhaps explained by the state's economy. Income is a major reason people become obese. Why? It costs more money to eat healthy foods, especially fresh fruits and vegetables.

• The healthiest states in terms of weight are concentrated in the Northeast and the West.

• Colorado is the only state with an obesity rate below 20 percent.

• The District of Columbia is the only region to experience a decline in obesity rates.

• Blacks and Latinos are more obese than whites in at least 40 states and the District of Columbia. This even holds true for children. Just more than 30 percent of black children and almost 40 percent of Latino kids are overweight, compared with 29 percent of white kids. This puts them at higher risk of developing diabetes, high blood pressure and other risk factors for heart disease.

"The link between poverty, race and obesity is undeniable," Angela Glover Blackwell, founder and chief executive officer of PolicyLink, told HealthDay News. "For example, Mississippi, the poorest state in the nation with an African-American population of more than 37 percent, has the highest obesity rate of any state and highest proportion of obese children."

-- From the editors at Netscape

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Tags: fattest states, FattestStates, heaviest states, obesity, obesity rates

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)

Rev Reb 7-27-2010 @ 9:57AM

I tell you what Dan. Us Rebel boy sure whooped the hell out of them at Chickamauga! HA!

sjoyce 7-27-2010 @ 6:24AM

Dan,do you know were the word REDNECK came from you dumb ass yankee!!YOU THUNK YOU DO!!

ABNLRPRGR 7-27-2010 @ 10:22AM

A citation from 1893 provides a definition as "poorer inhabitants of the rural districts...men who work in the field, as a matter of course, generally have their skin burned red by the sun, and especially is this true of the back of their necks".In Scotland in the 1640s the Covenanters rejected rule by bishops, often signing manifestos using their own blood. Some wore red cloth around their neck to signify their position, and were called rednecks by the English ruling class to denote that they were the rebels in what came to be known as The Bishop's War that preceded the rise of Cromwell.[15][16] Eventually, the term began to mean simply "Presbyterian", especially in communities along the Scottish border. Because of the large number of Scottish immigrants in the pre-revolutionary American south, some historians have suggested that this may be the origin of the term in the United States.

jay 7-27-2010 @ 7:01AM

restrict food stamps to healthly foods and unprepared foods not allowing frozen foods, chips, cookies, ice cream etc. this will force the under privledged to eat on a healthy basis. tax payers pay for food assistence and later pay for health care assistence. These folks need our help but changes in the rules need to be made.

Susan 7-27-2010 @ 9:34AM

I agree.Let us not "help" our citizens become obese by "feeding" the problem. The WIC program for pregnant women and children under 5 years of ages does only allows select, healthy items so why not the same for food stamps? I see many obese children in my practice as a pediatric nurse practitioner.Their future is scary- diabetes, heart disease and a shorter life span. Not a pretty picture at all.

Jean Hayes 7-27-2010 @ 9:39AM

Now thats a constructive thought, but do you think that the government would dare suggest such a thing, the recipients would start an all out war called "predujice" Love the idea though!

Marcy B 7-27-2010 @ 1:07PM

I second that!!! I've long been a believer that food stamps need to have some sort of limitations and controls on them. I agree food stamps are a necessary evil in society but it makes me sick when I'm struggling to buy groceries to feed my family and see someone paying for T-bone steaks, ice cream, chips and cookies with food stamps. They can control WIC usage why can't they do the same for food stamps?

sharon 8-04-2010 @ 5:05PM

I see you have never been very poor. Top Ramin, Mac and Cheese, Noodles, gravy, bread, these are the foods that fill, and are cheep. Three skinny kids eat more than most six men. How do you fill them up? I get some help from the food bank, but the food is also fattening.

Michael 7-27-2010 @ 7:19AM

"The link between poverty, race and obesity is undeniable," Well duh! Rice, beans, fried chicken (fried anything and everything), flour tortillas, refried beans and a heaping helping of macaroni and cheese with margarine ladden rolls and bread for dinner (all at once) is the recipe for FAT! The foods of choice at the Food Banks are based on the ethnic population base and they are cheap, easy to make and filling and they are what most of those folks are buying and eating on their own because that is what they have always ate i.e. comfort foods. McDonald's is not a healthy meal choice but, you can buy it and other fast food with your Welfare EBT Debit card (Food Stamps on a credit card so people can't sell there Food Stamp Money for drugs etc), and we all wonder why poverty and obesity are linked!

Regina 7-27-2010 @ 10:17AM

Michael, I don't know where you got your information from, but you cannot buy fast food with food stamps. You can't buy any hot prepared foods with them.

Not everyone who gets food stamps buys junk food with them. And no I don't get food stamps, but when I was a kid my mom did. She would use them to buy food we couldn't otherwise afford...mostly fresh fruit and vegetables. Our family wasn't big on junk food.

Pat Henry 7-27-2010 @ 7:45AM

Obviously Dan is a product of the public school system with poor reading and comprehension skills. The article clearly states:

" Blacks and Latinos are more obese than whites in at least 40 states and the District of Columbia.....The link between poverty, race and obesity is undeniable,"

Hardly a definition of "Rednecks".

We are living in a Socialist state and when Socialists cannot deliver on things they promise such as FREE Healthcare for everyone they must demonize a particular class of society whom they can blame for their failures. Fatties are the latest 'enemy of the state' who will be blamed for using more than their share of the programs benefits - thus causing the state to have to raise everyones taxes or be denied services.

This is just more propaganda in the ongoing class warfare that is being used to divide our country.

Unfortunately people like Dan are willing accomplices.

Patriot 7-27-2010 @ 11:45AM

You idiot. We are NOT living in a Socialist state. That is just plain wrong. We obviously are living in a "democracy", just one that is dominated and controlled by the BIG CORPORATIONS and not by the average Will of the People. Don't blame the government, as the corporate-dominated government wants you to, blame the CORPORATIONS who are taking over and trying to call it "socialism" so that they can seize still more power to enslave you. FIGHT BACK against the corporate takeover of the American government by Big Oil, health insurance companies, and the Agricultural conglomerates that just want to feed us all their poisonous crap. And learn what Socialism is, and isn't. Take a Governmental Science class!

jessica 7-27-2010 @ 12:12PM

No Patriot, we do not live in a democracy. The US has NEVER been a democracy. We are a republic. Maybe YOU should take a government class. Further more, the corporations do control a lot of legislation however now the left is trying to control the private sector as well. You can enforce regulations but our president has now made it possible for him to seize corporations. We have gone from one poor extreme to the other. Also, Big Oil? Did you know that the oil companies are taxed way way WAY more than any other corporation not to mention the government freaks out when they make a small percentage of profit. ATT makes a larger percentage profit than ANY oil company!

Em 7-27-2010 @ 12:44PM

Hurray! Someone who understands.....

Frank Smith 7-27-2010 @ 8:18AM

I think jay is right,why do the tax paying people have to pay for fat foods.

jm 7-27-2010 @ 8:19AM

I dont think its all about poverty etc. I think a lot of it has to do with the ribs,chicken,corn dogs,notice the states,the ones that are known for that stuff,I mean I love to eat that too but its a treat for us and mostly just in the summer at a bar b cue or something. Think of the way its all cooked,battered,southern fried, or mopped with loads of sauce its not all about the meat either,then you get into the trimmings,pot.salad etc etc. This is all with out Mc Donalds etc which you can get with your welfare card if need be,so I think its all about WHAT is going into and on the food,too bad,I love the south and the people,hope they wake up and smell the coffee!

lynn 7-27-2010 @ 4:49PM

True southerners have woke up and smelt the coffee. Then after enjoying it, we go out and work all that good food off. I'm tired of these twisted statistics. Mississippi is racists- they say. Then they say we're the fattest. Please put in your 'facts' that Mississippi has more blacks per capita than any other state- why? because we aren't racist. They actually like it here. Write in beside your fattest state stats just how many are on public assistance. We well take care of 'em too.

Emily1984 7-27-2010 @ 8:20AM

I think people in the south know that their diet is not the healthiest, but their style of cooking lends itself to obesity. When you think of delicious food, your first thought isn't, "Oh, let's go to Colorado to get some really good food." It's, "Hey, lets run over to Biloxi or New Orleans and get some great food." People just need to learn to eat in moderation. I'm skinny, but love southern food. It's the best in the country.

jessica 7-27-2010 @ 12:16PM

haha yeah. I think it's all our southern comfort foods that tend to make people fat. These are also the foods that people not from the south will go to restaurants to get. I'm always surprised when I go visit family in Jersey and they have NO idea what black eyed peas are.

Mary 7-27-2010 @ 8:26AM

Pat Henry is spot-on! This all boils down to issues of personal responsibility...which includes being responsible for living a healthy life. There is enough information out there (regardless of your socio-economic status...I bet they all have TVs) to be educated about healthy living habits.