Texas, You're Fat: Study
State ranks 14 on national obesity chart
By STACY MORROW
Updated 7:48 AM CDT, Thu, Nov 19, 2009
It's well known that everything is bigger in Texas, and now the latest America's Health Rankings say waistlines are included, listing the state as No. 14 on its obesity chart.
The annual report found Texas's number of obese residents increased to 28.9 percent from 28.6 percent last year and noted that the rate has more than doubled since 1990. That's when the rate was 12.3 percent.
But Texas' number has actually improved on the grand scale of things because the entire nation is getting fatter, according to the report. Texas' ranking fell from 12th place in the previous year, and it now shares the 14th-fattest state placement with Louisiana. Missouri and Michigan now occupy the 12th-fattest spot.
The report said obesity is growing faster than any previous national public health issue. Today, 31 percent -- more than one in four Americans -- are considered obese, according to the report.
The report warns that if current trends continue, 103 million American adults - or 43 percent of the population - will be considered obese by 2018.
Robert Gould, president and CEO of Partnership for Prevention, a co-sponsor of the report, told the Star Telegram that the obesity trend poses an unprecedented health concern in the United States.
"Today’s children face the prospect of being the first generation in history to live sicker and die younger than their parents," he said.
America's Health Rankings, which is also sponsored by United Health Foundation, and the American Public Health Association, has tracked the health of the nation for the past 20 years.
First Published: Nov 18, 2009 4:17 PM CDT
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