A new obesity reported released Tuesday found that 25.1 percent of adults in New York are obese and said a big factor was the high obesity rate among the state’s minority population.
As high as the obesity rate is, New York is one of the slimmer states in the union. The report, “F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America’s Future,’’ ranked New York 36th for obesity among U.S. states.
The seventh annual report was released from the Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF).
In last year’s report New York was ranked as the 37th most obese state in the nation for adults.
In order to determine obesity doctors use a formula based off of height and weight_called the body mass index (BMI)_. If an adult has a BMI of 30 or higher, they are considered obese.
The report examined several factors that are believed to lead to obesity. They compiled data based on race, gender, access to physical activities, and income levels.
According to Jeff Levi, the executive director of the trust, economics play a big role in obesity because “healthy foods cost more.”
The report showed that 35.5 percent of adults earning less than $15,000 per year were obese, whereas 24.5 percent of adults earning $50,000 or more each year are obese.
Adult obesity rates for blacks and Latinos are higher than those for whites in nearly every state. Adult obesity rates for blacks are at or above 30 percent in 43 states and the District of Columbia. In nine states, the rates exceed 40 percent for blacks.
For Latinos, adult obesity rates are at or above 30 percent in 19 states. Only one state _ West Virginia _ has an adult obesity rate for whites at or above 30 percent.
The report said 35.9 percent of black youth and 38.2 percent of Latino youth ages 2-19 are overweight or obese, compared with 29.3 percent of white children.
The report said one reason for disparities among children is the availability of safe public areas for physical activity.
The reports found that among Latino parents, 40.1 percent cite safety concerns as a reason why their children can’t exercise, compared with 8.5 percent of white parents.
Mississippi ranked highest on the obesity report for the sixth year in a row, with obesity rates at 33.8 percent. Colorado remained the lowest at 19.1 percent.