Arkansas Ranks 2nd in Rate of Obese Children

**Report from Arkansas Business***

Arkansas ranks second in the nation in its percentage of obese and overweight children (37.5 percent) and is tied with Ohio at 10th place in the percentage of obese adults (28.6 percent), a new report says.

Adult obesity rates increased in 23 states, according to the report, "F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies Are Failing in America 2009." Mississippi was No. 1 on the list for both adult and child obesity, the report, released Wednesday by the Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, said.

None of the states saw a decline in the rate of obesity in the past year. And two-thirds of American adults are either obese or overweight, the report said.
"Our health care costs have grown along with our waist lines," Jeff Levi, executive director of the Trust for America's Health, said in a news release issued by the trust. "The obesity epidemic is a big contributor to the skyrocketing health care costs in the United States. How are we going to compete with the rest of the world if our economy and workforce are weighed down by bad health?"

Mississippi had the highest rate of adult obesity at 32.5 percent, making it the fifth year in a row that the state topped the list. Four states now have rates above 30 percent, including Mississippi, West Virginia (31.2 percent), Alabama (31.1 percent) and Tennessee (30.2 percent). Eight of the 10 states with the highest percentage of obese adults are in the South. Colorado continued to have the lowest percentage of obese adults at 18.9 percent.

Adult obesity rates now exceed 25 percent in 31 states and exceed 20 percent in 49 states and Washington, D.C. In 1991, no state had an obesity rate above 20 percent. In 1980, the national average for adult obesity was 15 percent. Sixteen states experienced an increase for the second year in a row, and 11 states experienced an increase for the third straight year.
Mississippi also had the highest rate of obese and overweight children (ages 10 to 17) at 44.4 percent. Minnesota and Utah had the lowest rate at 23.1 percent. Eight of the 10 states with the highest rates of obese and overweight children are in the South. Childhood obesity rates have more than tripled since 1980.

The report also calls for a National Strategy to Combat Obesity. The effort would define roles and responsibilities for federal, state and local governments and promote collaboration among businesses, communities, schools and families. It would seek to advance policies that
● Provide healthy foods and beverages to students at schools;
● Increase the availability of affordable healthy foods in all communities;
● Increase the frequency, intensity and duration of physical activity
● Improve access to safe and healthy places to live, work, learn and play;
● Limit TV and computer screen time; and
● Encourage employers to provide workplace wellness programs.