According to a recent report, Ohio was ranked as the 13th obese state in the United States, which the state officials believe to be an alarming crisis. On the other side, Colorado was named as the state with the lowest adult obesity rate which is approximately 19.1%. Clark County Health Commissioner, Charles Patterson reportedly told that the chronic diseases and effects like high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes caused due to obesity are becoming more prevalent.
As per the 7th annual F as in “Fat: How Obesity Threatens America’s Future 2010” report from the Robert Wood Jhonson Foundation and the Trust for America’s Health, the highest rate of obesity is observed in Mississippi. Tennesse and Alabama were tied in the second position.
Between 2005-2008, Ohio has 28.6% average rate of adult obesity or the 10th highest. Now, children from Ohio rank as the 12th most obese in the United States, whereas it was ranked as 15th earlier. According to a recent study conducted, out of the 1,000 third graders, 45% were either obese or overweight. This was a direct 10% advance from the average of 5 years earlier. To much concern, it looks bleakest for the minorities – the obesity rate among black adults was 40.9% and Latinos 32.5%, when compared with whites obesity rate of 28.3%.
Jeff Levi, Executive Director of Trust of America’s Health, said that some of the responsible factors that leads to obesity in states like Ohio include:
- Economics differences
- Access to grocery stores
- Education
- Neighborhood safety
The ethnic and racial differences were highlighted in the report. In the South, 10 out of the 11 states were ranked as the states having highest obesity rates. More than 35.3% of adults were found to be obese who earned less than $ 15,000 each year, when compared with 24.5% of adults who earned $ 50,000 or more each year.
