WEST VIRGINIA MOST OBESE STATE TWO YEARS RUNNING

(09/14/2018)
West Virginia leads the country in adult obesity rate for the second year in a row, according to new national data.

The annual State of Obesity report, released by the Trust for America's Health and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, charts West Virginia's adult obesity rate at 38.1 percent.

Speak about dramatic climbs.

That's up from 23.9 percent in 2000 and from 13.7 percent in 1990.

Worse yet, obesity among children.

West Virginia has the seventh-highest obesity rate for youth ages 10-17.

The 2018 report, released Wednesday, revealed that adult obesity rates seven states in the country exceed 35 percent. In order, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Iowa, Alabama, Louisiana and Arkansas round out the top seven. Five states were above the 35 percent threshold in 2016.

The study said no state had a "statistically significant improvement in its obesity rate over the past year." Obesity rates rose in six states since the last report, including West Virginia.

Adults ages 45-64 lead the state in obesity rate at 45 percent. Men slightly outpace women, at 39.4 percent, compared to West Virginia women's obesity rate of 36.7 percent.