WASHINGTON — Bad news on obesity again. Last year, Texas ranked 10th in the nation in the percent of the population who are obese — one of 12 states with a rate exceeding 30 percent.
The Trust for America’s Health released a compilation of state obesity rates http://healthyamericans.org/report/98/obseityratesbystate Monday morning.
“Obesity has contributed to a stunning rise in chronic disease rates and health care costs. It is one of the biggest health crises the country has ever faced,” said Jeffrey Levi, the Trust’s eecutive director.
Mississippi has the highest rate of obesity (34.9 percent), followed by Louisiana (33.4 percent) and West Virginia (32.4 percent). Texas tied with Kentucky in tenth place with a rate of 30.4 percent. Texas ranked 12th among the states in 2010, with an obesity rate of 30.1 percent.
The findings for 2011 are not directly comperable with earlier years because the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta adjusted its methodology, using cell phone numbers, for example, to contact people about their weight and height. People who have a body mass index greater than 30 are considred obese. (To see your BMI, go to http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/ )
Monday’s results could be even worse than reported, CDC researcher say. The information was gathered through a telephone survey of more than 400,000 Americans (including 14,024 people in Texas). Respondents were asked their height and weight, and a lot of people apparently fudge. While Mississippians reported the most obesity at 34.9 percent of the population, the last measures recorded by physicians — in 2009 and 2010 — gave the nation an average obesity of 35.7 percent.
Texas State Comptroller Susan Combs estimates obesity costs Texas companies $9.5 billion a year in health insurance premiums, absenteeism and lost productivity. The way things are going, that cost will rise to $32.5 billion by 2030.