Mississippi is once again named the fattest state in America for 2011.
The fattest state in America is once again Mississippi. This is the sixth consecutive year for Mississippi to be at the very top of the obesity percentage charts for all 50 states. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that 34.9% of Mississippi is considered obese—the leader by more than a full percentage point. Coming up second is Louisiana at 33.4% and third is West Virginia with 32.4% of the population considered obese.
The CDC has come out saying that obesity in America has risen drastically over the past 20 years, releasing its fattest states statistics on the web. Over “one-third of the U.S. adults (35.7%) and approximately 17% (0r 12.5 million) of children and adolescents aged 2-19 years are obese,” according to the CDC website. Twelve states now have an obesity percentage over 30% and no state has a percentage less than 20%. By definition, a person is considered obese with a BMI over 30.
Colorado, on the other hand, is once again the skinniest state with only 20.7% of the population considered obese. While it is a little less than 15% below the fattest state, 20%, give or take, would have been considered the highest ranking two decades ago.
The region with the highest percentage of obesity was in fact the South, with the Midwest coming in second, the Northeast after that and finally the West as the skinniest.
