Last week the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that obesity has become a problem in every state; no state reported that less than 20 percent of adults were obese in 2010.
Data came from the most recent Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), a state-based phone survey that collects health information from approximately 400,000 adults aged 18 and over. Results show that the number of states in which 30 percent or more of adults are obese increased from nine states in 2009 to 12 states in 2010. No states had that level of obesity in 2000.
The obesity rate was highest in the South, which had a rate of 29.4 percent. The obesity rate was 28.7 percent in the Midwest, 24.9 percent in the Northeast, and 24.1 percent in the West. In 2010, Mississippi had the highest obesity rate of 34.0, and Colorado had the lowest rate of 21.0.
Learn more about U.S. obesity trends on the CDC website.