Deep South Leads in Obesity

Southern states have highest rate, led by Mississippi
By Peter Fearon,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 18, 2008 7:13 AM CDT
Deep South Leads in Obesity
The South is America's fattest region, with more than 30% of the populations of Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee obese.    (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

The South has the nation's largest percentage of obese residents, a new survey by the Centers for Disease Control finds, with 30% of adults in Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee qualifying as obese. Even in Colorado, the state with the best fat stats, 19% of the populace is obese.

The overall proportion of Americans 18 or older who are obese, based on self-reporting of weight,  increased nearly 2% between 2005 and 2007, the CDC found, bringing the nationwide  figure to 25.6%. (More Obsesity stories.)

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