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In 2012, no U.S. states had an adult obesity rate higher than 35 percent. Five years later, 2017 survey data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that in seven states – led by Mississippi and West Virginia – more than 35 percent of the adult population reported that they were obese.
The problem is not Mississippi’s alone. Almost all U.S. states reported obesity rates above 25 percent, part of a steady upward trend over the last decade. Some groups carry more than their share of the burden; in Mississippi, about 45 percent of non-whites report being obese.
Continued high obesity in adults and children is driving an increase in chronic diseases that bring a health and economic burden with them. Reducing the burden of these chronic diseases, in part by reducing obesity, is one of the main goals of the Mississippi State Department of Health.
(Picture ULM Hawkeye)
