by Amy Spangler
August 10, 2010

Have you graduated to zipperless pants with an elastic waist? You’re not alone. A growing number of U.S. adults are overweight or obese, according to the most recent Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Data were taken from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey (BRFSS), an annual, random-digit-dialed telephone survey of U.S. adults. Participants were asked to report their weight and height—researchers then calculated body mass index (BMI). Obesity is defined as BMI greater than 30. Individuals reporting weight greater than 500 pounds and height greater than 7 feet or less than 3 feet were excluded.

The estimated rate of obesity among U.S. adults was a whopping 26.7 percent (slightly more than 1 in 4 adults). Yikes! Those most likely to be obese were non-Hispanic blacks (36.8 percent), residents of the midwest (28.2 percent) and the south (28.4 percent), and individuals aged 50-59 (31.1 percent) and 60-69 (30.9 percent). Rates were also higher among individuals without a high school education (32.9 percent) compared to college educated men (22.9 percent) and women (18.6 percent).

Out of all U.S. states and the District of Columbia, Colorado logged the lowest obesity rate (18.6 percent) and Mississippi the highest (34.4 percent). In 2000, no state had an obesity rate greater than 30 percent, compared to 9 states in 2010—Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and West Virginia. Interestingly, those same states also had the lowest breastfeeding initiation rates—Alabama (58.8 percent), Arkansas (61.5 percent), Kentucky (53.6 percent), Louisiana (49.1 percent), Mississippi (48.3 percent), Missouri (65.3 percent), Oklahoma (65.6 percent), Tennessee (58.8 percent), and West Virginia (58.8 percent) plus two others, Georgia (62.5 percent) and South Carolina (61.3 percent), compared to 73.9 percent breastfeeding initiation rate nationwide.

Numerous factors affect a child’s risk for obesity, but none has greater impact than the mother’s BMI. As rates of obesity in women increase, so too does the risk for obesity in their children.

It’s never too late to lower your and your child’s risks for obesity. Click here for more information and guidance.