This is quite a change from 1995. The garbage that is being offered as food - chock full of chemicals and who knows what - has to be at the root of this problem. The health care costs alone are going to be staggering. While most of the GOP likes to make fun of Michelle Obama's initiative to work on this problem, it's a serious problem that needs attention.
By that measure, Mississippi is the fattest state in the union with an adult obesity rate of 34.4 percent. Colorado is the least obese -- with a rate of 19.8 percent -- and the only state with an adult obesity rate below 20 percent, according to "F as in Fat," an annual report from the Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.Maybe it's time to spend more dollars on public cycling infrastructure.
While the number of states showing significant year-over-year increases in obesity has been slowing, no state chalked up an actual decline. Even Colorado does not win high marks -- its score means one in five state residents is at higher risk for conditions like heart disease and diabetes.
"Today, the state with the lowest adult obesity rate would have had the highest rate in 1995," said Jeff Levi, executive director of the Trust for America's Health.
