Missouri ranks 17th in the nation for the percentage of adults (32.5 percent) who are obese, according to a new report released last Tuesday.
The 15th annual State of Obesity report from the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation raises awareness about the seriousness of the obesity epidemic, encourages creation of a national obesity prevention strategy, and highlights promising approaches for reversing the epidemic at state and local levels, according to stateofobesity.org.
The Missouri percentage indicates a bump up from 2016, when it was 31.7 percent.
For ages 18-25, 19.4 percent are obese; 26-44 (32.8 percent); 45-64 (38.7 percent); and 65 and older (29.8 percent).
Obesity affects black people most in the state (39.1 percent), followed by white people (31.6 percent) and Hispanic people (29.9 percent).
Women (33.5 percent) in Missouri are more likely to be obese than men (31.5 percent).
Missouri’s high school students rank 10th most obese at 16.6 percent, according to the report. The national rate is 18.5 percent.
John Auerbach, president and CEO of Trust for America’s Health, a nonprofit organization that promotes optimal health for every person and community, according to the report, said the old adage “you are what you eat” tells part of the obesity story. However, a more comprehensive story may be told by an adage “you are where you live,” he said.
Americans don’t have equal access to healthy options and opportunities for exercise, he said, so a person’s ZIP code may be an accurate predictor of their weight.
One in five Americans is obese in every state, he said. And black and Hispanic communities, low-income communities and rural areas — three areas which often have food deserts — are most likely to have only unhealthful foods readily available and affordable.
“They also are likely to lack accessible and safe places for physical activity,” he said.
Solving the obesity problem will require evidence-based, multi-sector approaches, Auerbach said.
“There is a growing body of evidence that policies and programs that align efforts across sectors — among health departments, transportation officials, schools and businesses — can work,” he said.
Programs must be implemented in more communities, particularly those most affected by obesity, Auerbach said.
More than 100 million adults (about 40 percent of Americans) are living with diabetes or prediabetes, according to the report. Prediabetes is considered a warning sign, when a person’s blood sugar is higher than normal but not high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes.
Missouri gained in its ranking of adults with Type 2 diabetes (once known as adult-onset diabetes, in which the body becomes resistant to insulin or when the pancreas stops producing enough insulin). In 2016, it ranked 13th (11.5 percent of its adults had diabetes). In 2017, it climbed to 29th (10.4 percent).
Missouri also improved its ranking for hypertension (high blood pressure), a leading cause of stroke, heart attack and kidney failure.
With 34.1 percent of adults reporting hypertension in 2016, the state ranked 14th.
In 2017, 32 percent of adults reported hypertension, which was 27th highest.