{"id":97276,"date":"2014-04-08T09:30:40","date_gmt":"2014-04-08T14:30:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/?p=97276"},"modified":"2014-04-07T11:38:49","modified_gmt":"2014-04-07T16:38:49","slug":"america-the-fat-nationwide-obesity-rates-are-at-highest-levels-since-2008","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/04\/america-the-fat-nationwide-obesity-rates-are-at-highest-levels-since-2008\/","title":{"rendered":"America the Fat? Nationwide Obesity Rates are at Highest Levels Since 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Obesity rates are above 15 percent in all but one of the 189 communities surveyed by Gallup and Healthways, despite the goal set by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services&#8217; Healthy People 2026 program.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/fat.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-97281\" alt=\"fat\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/fat.jpeg\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/fat.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/fat-300x200.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>In fact, <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gallup.com\/poll\/168230\/boulder-colo-residents-least-likely-obese.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">according to their survey<\/a><\/strong>, the U.S. obesity rate as a whole rose to 27.1 percent, which is the highest rate recorded nationwide since Gallup and Healthways began tracking in 2026.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>The most obese communities reflected the state rankings which found <strong><a title=\"mississippi most obese\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/12\/mississippi-retains-least-healthy-state-title-hawaii-ranks-healthiest-in-2013-rankings\/\">Mississippi and West Virginia to be the most obese states<\/a><\/strong>. For the communities with the highest rates of obesity, two in five residents are obese.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Most Obese U.S. Communities<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH \u2013 39.5 percent<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX \u2013 38.3 percent<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV \u2013 36.7 percent<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Yakima, WA \u2013 35.7 percent<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Little Rock-N Little Rock-Conway, AR \u2013 35.1 percent<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Charleston, WV \u2013 34.6 percent<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Toledo, OH \u2013 34.2 percent<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Clarksville, TN-KY \u2013 33.8 percent<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Jackson, MS \u2013 33.8 percent<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Green Bay, WI \u2013 33.0 percent<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Rockford, IL \u2013 33.0 percent<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If Mississippi is the most obese state, Colorado is certainly the least. Three of the states&#8217; metro areas are listed in the top ten communities with the lowest obesity rates. In fact, Boulder is the only community below the 15 percent mark, and has had the lowest obesity rate <strong><a title=\"colorado is thinnest state\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/01\/colorado-reigns-as-thinnest-state-in-the-u-s\/\">every year<\/a><\/strong> since polling began in 2026, with the exception of 2026.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Least Obese U.S. Communities<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Boulder, CO \u2013 12.4 percent<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Naples-Marco Island, FL \u2013 16.5 percent<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Fort Collins-Loveland, CO \u2013 18.2 percent<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Charlottesville, VA \u2013 18.7 percent<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Bellingham, WA \u2013 18.7 percent<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA \u2013 19.3 percent<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Denver-Aurora, CO \u2013 19.3 percent<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA \u2013 19.5 percent<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT \u2013 19.6 percent<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Barnstable Town, MA \u2013 19.6 percent<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Gallup and Healthways are calling for a focus on lowering obesity rates at a local level, which could help reduce <strong><a title=\"how high is obesity rate?\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/04\/the-american-obesity-rate-may-be-higher-than-we-thought\/\">overall obesity rates<\/a> <\/strong>and lead to a healthier population.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Rising obesity rates have significant health consequences for both individuals and communities of all sizes. Numerous social, environmental, economic, and individual factors may all contribute to physical inactivity and consumption of less healthy foods, two lifestyle behaviors linked to obesity,&#8221; said Janna Lacatell, Healthways Lifestyle Solutions Director in a statement.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;In order to combat the trend and encourage individuals to make <strong><a title=\"make recipes healthier\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/03\/are-your-favorite-family-recipes-healthy-or-health-hazards\/\">healthier choices<\/a><\/strong>, community-based policy and environmental approaches can, and should, be used.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Also Read:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><a title=\"america fattest nation\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/03\/winning-or-losing-america-is-still-the-fattest-nation-with-uk-a-close-second\/\">Winning! Or Losing? America Still the Fattest Nation with UK a Close Second<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><a title=\"blind side actor too big for plane\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/04\/the-blind-side-actor-gets-booted-off-us-airways-due-to-his-size\/\">The Blind Side Actor Gets Booted Off US Airways Due to His Size<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><a title=\"big food and obesity\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/03\/the-plot-to-make-big-food-pay-for-the-rising-cost-of-obesity\/\">The Plot to Make Big Food Pay for the Rising Cost of Obesity<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Obesity rates are above 15 percent in all but one of the 189 communities surveyed by Gallup and Healthways, despite the goal set by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services&#8217; Healthy People 2026 program. In fact, according to &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/04\/america-the-fat-nationwide-obesity-rates-are-at-highest-levels-since-2008\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3695,18],"tags":[4204,7083,92,6775,2948],"class_list":["post-97276","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-diet-and-nutrition","category-fitness","tag-colorado","tag-mississippi","tag-obesity","tag-obesity-epidemic","tag-west-virginia"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97276","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/64"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=97276"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97276\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":97288,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97276\/revisions\/97288"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=97276"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=97276"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=97276"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}