Brought to you by WBIW News and Network Indiana
Last updated on Tuesday, August 14, 2012
(ATLANTA) - A new government survey shows Indiana is among the 10 states with the highest obesity rates, ranking eighth in a study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
More than a third of adults are obese, but rates vary by state. The latest figures are based on a 2011 telephone survey that asked adults their height and weight. For the first time, households with only cell phones were included.
State rates remained about the same, although states with very high rates went from nine to 12. At least 30 percent of adults are obese in Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas and West Virginia.
Colorado was lowest, at just under 21 percent, and Mississippi was highest at nearly 36 percent in data the CDC released Monday.
Nearly 31 percent of Hoosiers provided data that indicated they are obese, up from about 29 percent in 2010, the CDC said.
Only Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Oklahoma and West Virginia have a higher percentage of obese people, the study indicated.
The last year Indiana had an obesity rate under 20 percent was in 1999, the study showed.
The South had the highest prevalence of obesity (29.5 percent), followed by the Midwest at 29.0 percent.
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