The State of Obesity report has just come out and Massachusetts is currently the 48th most
obese state in the United States. The only states with lower rates of
obesity are Hawaii and Colorado, according to the report by the Robert
Wood Johnson Foundation and the Trust for America’s Health.
The State of
Obesity observes studies collected from the Behavioral Risk Factor
Surveillance System and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Although all states showed obesity rates between 20 and 35 percent,
Massachusetts was on the lower end of the spectrum, with only 23.6
percent of residents being characterized as obese.
According to the
report, Northeastern and Western states had the lowest rates of obesity,
while the highest rates are in the South and Midwest.
There are a variety of factors that
contribute to Massachusetts’s overall health. According to America’s
Health Rankings, only 16.4 percent of adults still smoke, and only 19.7
percent of adults are physically inactive—both low statistics compared
to the rest of the United States. Additionally, the American
Psychological Association found that Northeast residents are known for
having lower average stress levels than any other region, another factor
that contributes to weight gain and overall wellbeing.
Mississippi and West Virginia have the highest rates of obesity at 35.1
percent, while Colorado have the lowest rate at 21.3 percent. All 10
states with the highest rates of obesity are in the South or Midwest.
