Americans are getting fatter at an alarming rate, with seven states recording obesity rates of over 35 percent compared to just five states in the year before.
There are numerous reports related to the monitoring obesity rates. So far, the growth of waistlines across the United States is not slowing down.
Obesity Rates In The US
According to a report from nonprofit organizations Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Americans keep on getting fatter.
The State of Obesity 2018 report, which is based on 2017 data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, revealed that the adult obesity rate was above 35 percent in seven states, compared to just five states in last year's report based on 2016 data. West Virginia, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, and Arkansas already had obesity rates of more than 35 percent in the previous year, and joining the list this year are Oklahoma and Iowa.
Seven states with obesity rates of over 35 percent in 2017 is an alarming trend because in 2012, no state reached 35 percent.
West Virginia posted the highest obesity rate at 38.1 percent, while Colorado posted the lowest obesity rate at 22.6 percent. From 2012 to 2017, 31 states saw a significant increase in obesity rate, and alarmingly, no state saw a significant decrease over that five-year period.
Looking at 2016 to 2017, six states, namely Iowa, South Carolina, Rhode Island, Oklahoma, Ohio, and Massachusetts, saw significant increases in their obesity rates. Two of these states, Oklahoma and Iowa, saw their increases push them to over 35 percent.
There is good news underlying the rising obesity rates in the United States, though. According to Trust for America's Health president John Auerbach, there is growing evidence that the trend could be reversed by some prevention programs. However, there will be no significant declines in obesity rates until the programs are implemented throughout the United States and are provided constant support.
Solving The Nationwide Obesity Problem
There have been various studies that are focused on understanding and solving obesity. Recent examples include linking obesity in children to the lifestyle habits of their mothers and utilizing dogs in future research to determine the cause and psychological impact of obesity.
Unfortunately, there is no easy fix for the obesity problem of the United States. The best thing that citizens can do is to maintain a healthy lifestyle themselves and perhaps even invite family and friends to do the same.
