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Dayton Business Journal...
Report: Obesity rate
increases in Ohio, 16 states
by DBJ Staff
Friday, July 8, 2011
Ohio is 13th on an annual ranking of the most obese states in the U.S.,
with even more obese people than ever before.
A joint report from the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood
Johnson Foundation pegged Ohio’s adult obesity rate at 29.6 percent,
ranking it 13th in the nation. Last year, Ohio also was 13th but the
obesity rate was lower at 29 percent.
Note: Click below for the Top 10 Fattest States.
The obesity rate is indicative of rising levels for much of the nation,
where 16 states reported an increase. The foundation in its report, “F
as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America’s Future 2011,” said 12 states
now have adult obesity rates above 30 percent. Four years ago only one
state had a rate of 30 percent. Nearly two decades ago, not a single
state had an obesity rate above 20 percent.
Jeffrey Levi, executive director of the Trust for America’s Health,
said in a statement that the state with the lowest adult obesity rate
today would have ranked as the highest rate in 1995.
“There was a clear tipping point in our national weight gain over the
last twenty years, and we can’t afford to ignore the impact obesity has
on our health and corresponding health care spending,” Levi said.
In addition, for many states, their combined rates for overweight and
obesity, and rates of chronic health problems, such as diabetes and
high blood pressure, have increased dramatically during the past two
decades. For Ohio, long-term trends in rates from the report include:
• Fifteen years ago, Ohio had a combined obesity and overweight rate of
51.5 percent. Ten years ago, it was 56.4 percent. Now, the combined
rate is 65.3 percent.
• Diabetes rates have doubled in ten states in the past 15 years. In
1995, Ohio had a diabetes rate of 5.4 percent. Now the diabetes rate is
10 percent.
• Fifteen years ago, Ohio had a hypertension rate of 20.7 percent. Now,
the rate is 29.1 percent.
Racial and ethnic minority adults, and those with less education or who
make less money, continue to have the highest overall obesity rates:
• Adult obesity rates in Ohio were 40.8 percent for Blacks. Nationally,
obesity rates for Blacks topped 40 percent in 15 states, 35 percent in
35 states, and 30 percent in 42 states and D.C.
• Rates of adult obesity for Latinos were 32.5 percent in Ohio.
National Latino obesity rates were above 35 percent in four states
(Mississippi, North Dakota, South Carolina, and Texas) and at 30
percent and above in 23 states.
• Meanwhile, rates of adult obesity for Whites topped 30 percent in
just four states (Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee, and West Virginia)
and no state had a rate higher than 32.1 percent. The rates of adult
obesity for Whites were 28.7 percent in Ohio.
• Nearly 33 percent of adults who did not graduate high school are
obese compared with 21.5 percent of adults who graduated from college
or a technical college.
• More than 33 percent of adults who earn less than $15,000 per year
were obese compared with 24.6 percent of adults who earn $50,000 or
more per year.
Obesity has its costs, with a report by The Conference Board indicating
obese employees cost U.S. private employers an estimated $45 billion
annually in medical expenditures and work loss. And insurance companies
such as CIGNA , Aetna and Humana take a hit from the health conditions
that arise from obesity.
The total weight-loss market for drugs and other remedies topped $61
billion in sales in the U.S. last year, according to another report.
That presents an opportunity for drug makers such as Johnson &
Johnson , AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline , which have weight-loss
medicines.
Read it with links at Dayton Business Journal
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