Report Claims Adult Obesity in U.S. Has Increased in 28 States
A new report has claimed that adult obesity in the United States has increased in 28 states in the past year and that 38 states have adult obesity rates above 25 percent. Titled “F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America’s Future 2010,” the report from Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation “highlights troubling racial, ethnic, regional and income disparities in the nation’s obesity epidemic.”
“This report shows that the country has taken bold steps to address the obesity crisis in recent years, but the nation’s response has yet to fully match the magnitude of the problem,” TFAH Executive Director Jeffrey Levi was quoted as saying. “Millions of Americans still face barrier like the high cost of healthy foods and lack of access to safe places to be physically active—that make healthy choices challenging.”
The report’s key policy recommendations include (i) support for obesity- and disease-prevention programs through the new health reform law, (ii) alignment of federal policies and legislation with the forthcoming National Prevention and Health Promotion Strategy, (iii) expanded commitment to community-based prevention programs, and (iv) continued investment in research and evaluation on nutrition, physical activity, obesity and obesity-related health outcomes. See Trust for America’s Health Press Release, June 29, 2010.
