Report: 39 States on Pace for Obesity Rates Above 50%

Costs in diabetes, heart disease, health care dollars will skyrocket if current trends go unchecked

By Amanda Gardner
HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, Sept. 18 (HealthDay News) -- If current trends continue, more than half the adults in 39 states could be obese by 2030, not just overweight, a new report says.

And 13 states could have adult obesity rates above 60 percent, while all 50 states would have rates above 44 percent, according to the report, released Tuesday by the Trust for America's Health (TFAH) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF).

The toll on the United States in terms of both obesity-related diseases and health-care costs will be staggering, according to a new report.

"Twenty years ago, no state had an obesity rate above 15 percent," said TFAH executive director Jeff Levi at a Tuesday morning news conference. "Obesity is one of the most challenging health crises this country has ever faced."

Today, two-thirds of adults and nearly one-third of children and teens are overweight and obese, putting them at an increased risk for serious diseases, and 12 states have adult obesity rates above 30 percent.

In 20 years, as is the case today, Mississippi would have the highest obesity rate, although it would soar from nearly 35 percent now to 67 percent in 2030, according to the report, titled "F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America's Future 2012."

Colorado would remain the leanest state, but about 45 percent of its adults would be obese in 28 years, up from nearly 21 percent today.

Although states in the South and Midwest bear a disproportionate share of the burden, obesity "is truly a nationwide crisis," Levi said.

More obese adults means more people at high risk for serious health conditions.