Mississippi remains most obese state, CDC reports
July 17, 2008

(AP) -- Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee lead the nation when it
comes to obesity, a new government survey reported Thursday.

More than 30 percent of adults in each of the states tipped the scales
enough to ensure the South remains the nation's fattest region.

Colorado was the least obese, with about 19 percent fitting that
category in a random telephone survey last year by the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention.

The 2007 findings are similar to results from the same survey the
three previous years. Mississippi has had the highest obesity rate
every year since 2004. But Alabama, Tennessee, West Virginia and
Louisiana have also clustered near the top of the list, often so close
that the difference between their rates and Mississippi's may not be
statistically significant.

Why is the South so heavy? The traditional Southern diet - high in fat
and fried food - may be part of the answer, said Dr. William Dietz,
who heads CDC's nutrition, physical activity and obesity division.

The South also has a large concentration of rural residents and black
women - two groups that tend to have higher obesity rates, he said.

Colorado, meanwhile, is a state with a reputation for exercise. It has
plentiful biking and hiking trails, and an elevation that causes the
body to labor a bit more, Dietz said.

Obesity is based on the body mass index, a calculation using height
and weight. A 5-foot, 9-inch adult who weighs 203 pounds would have a
BMI of 30, which is considered the threshold for obesity.

CDC officials believe the telephone survey of 350,000 adults offers
conservative estimates of obesity rates, because it's based on what
respondents said about their height and weight. Men commonly overstate
their height and women often lowball their weight, health experts
say.

"The heavier you are, the more you underestimate your weight, probably
because you don't weigh yourself as often," Dietz said.

Overall, about 26 percent of the respondents were obese, according to
the study, published this week in CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly
Report.

A different CDC survey - a gold-standard project in which researchers
actually weigh and measure survey respondents - put the adult obesity
rate at 34 percent in 2005 and 2006, the most recent years for which
there are data.

---

On the Net:

CDC study data: http://www.cdc.gov/brfss

© 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may
not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

This news is brought to you by PhysOrg.com
http://www.physorg.com/news135525619.html