Most parents think childhood obesity is a problem. Just not their kids’ problem.
An annual obesity report by two public health groups includes more bad news — obesity rates increased in 28 states last year — and also includes a new survey of parental attitudes about the issue. The survey shows an increasing awareness of obesity and its threat to public health, though that knowledge has yet to translate into results.
“This report shows that the country has taken bold steps to address the obesity crisis in recent years, but the nation’s response has yet to fully match the magnitude of the problem,” said Jeffrey Levi, executive director of the Trust for America’s Health, which writes the annual report with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
The new survey shows that 84 percent of parents believe their children are at a healthy weight, even though nearly a third of children and teens are considered obese or overweight. Still, 80 percent of those polled by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research and American Viewpoint said childhood obesity is a significant and growing problem.
Obesity in adults is defined as a body mass index of 30 or more, while overweight is a body mass index between 25 and 30.
Mississippi continued its six-year reign as the country’s fattest state in the study’s yearly rankings, along with the highest rates of physical inactivity and hypertension. The state also has the second-highest rate of diabetes.
Last year, four states — Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee and West Virginia — had obesity rates of more than 30 percent. This year, four more states have that distinction, bringing the total to eight states with rates of more than 30 percent. Those new states are Louisiana, Kentucky, Oklahoma and Arkansas.
The District of Columbia is the only area to see a decline in adult obesity rates.
The rise in obesity rates has been sharp in the past 20 years. More than two-thirds of states now have adult obesity rates above 25 percent. In 1991, no state had an obesity rate above 20 percent.
The report also details racial disparities in obesity, showing that obesity rates for black people and Latinos are higher than for white people in 40 states and the District of Columbia.
Story by Mary Clare Jalonick, The Associated Press