WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More than a quarter of all Americans are now obese, the latest U.S. government figures show.
The percentage of U.S. adults who are obese grew by nearly2 percent between 2005 and 2007, from just under 24 percent to25.6 percent, the Centers for Disease Control and Preventionreported on Thursday.
Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee had the worst rates,with 30 percent of adults reporting weights that made themmedically obese.
Colorado had the slimmest population, with 18.7 percent ofpeople reporting weights that put them in the obese category.
Obesity is defined as having a body mass index or BMI of 30or above. BMI is calculated using height and weight. Forexample, a 5-foot, 9-inch (175 cm) tall adult who weighs 203pounds (92 kg) would have a BMI of 30.
BMI takes into account variations in build for all but themost heavily muscled athletes.
"The epidemic of adult obesity continues to rise in theUnited States indicating that we need to step up our efforts atthe national, state and local levels," said Dr. William Dietz,director of the CDC's Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity,and Obesity.
"We need to encourage people to eat more fruits andvegetables, engage in more physical activity and reduce theconsumption of high calorie foods and sugar sweetened beveragesin order to maintain a healthy weight," Dietz said.
CDC researchers used data from the Behavioral Risk FactorSurveillance System, an annual telephone survey of more than350,000 adults.
Southerners are the heaviest Americans, on average, with 27percent obese. Just over 25 percent of adults in the Midwest,23 percent in the Northeast, and 22 percent in the West wereobese.
In May, the CDC reported that the childhood obesityepidemic had levelled off after surging for about 20 years,with 16 percent of young people obese.
World health officials have agreed on a BMI of 30 as aneasily remembered cutoff point for obesity. People areconsidered overweight when they have a BMI of 25, and thehealth effects of obesity and overweight, such as diabetes,heart disease and cancer, increase steadily as weight goes up.
A government BMI table is available athttp://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines/obesity/bmi_tbl.htm
(Reporting by Maggie Fox; editing by Julie Steenhuysen andVicki Allen)
