Michigan ranks in Top 10 while Ohio remains the 13th fattest state
7/7/2011Michigan again was named the 10th most obese state nationwide on Thursday, while Ohio kept its No. 13 ranking for another year, according to an annual report by Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
RANKINGS
Percentage of obese adults in all 50 states:
Mississippi 34.4
Alabama 32.3
West Virginia 32.2
Tennessee 31.9
Louisiana 31.6
Kentucky 31.5
Oklahoma 31.4
South Carolina 30.9
Arkansas 30.6
Michigan 30.5
Missouri 30.3
Texas 30.1
Ohio 29.6
North Carolina 29.4
Indiana 29.1
Kansas 29.0
Georgia 28.7
South Dakota 28.7
Pennsylvania 28.5
Iowa 28.1
Delaware 28.0
North Dakota 28.0
Illinois 27.7
Nebraska 27.6
Wisconsin 27.4
Maryland 27.1
Maine 26.5
Washington 26.4
Florida 26.1
Alaska 25.9
Virginia 25.9
Idaho 25.7
New Hampshire 25.6
New Mexico 25.6
Arizona 25.4
Oregon 25.4
Wyoming 25.4
Minnesota 25.3
Nevada 25.0
California 24.8
New York 24.7
Rhode Island 24.3
New Jersey 24.1
Montana 23.8
Vermont 23.5
Utah 23.4
Hawaii 23.1
Massachusetts 22.3
Connecticut 21.8
District of Columbia 21.7
Colorado 19.8
By The Associated Press
Michigan had an average 30.5 percent adult obesity rate from 2007 to 2009, while Ohio’s was 29.6 percent. But Ohio is the 15th fastest growing state for adult obesity rates when compared to 1995, while Michigan — which started out with a higher rate than Ohio 16 years ago — is the 17th fastest, the report said.
Both states are among 43 states with an obesity rate higher than 24 percent, which is more than any state had in 2000, according to the report. Obesity is measured by a person’s body mass index, a calculation using weight and height to determine body fat.
Mississippi had the highest adult obesity rate at 34.4 percent, followed by Alabama at 32.2 percent and West Virginia at 32.2 percent. Oklahoma had the fastest rate of obesity in the last 15 years, followed by Alabama and Tennessee, according to the eighth annual report, which included that comparison for the first time.