CT Obesity Rate is 43rd in US; Steadily Increasing, But Among Lowest Rates
/Connecticut’s obesity rate has increased dramatically during the past two decades, but the state has among the lowest adult obesity rates in the country, ranking 43rd among the states in an analysis of obesity rates.
According to the most recent data, rates of obesity now exceed 35 percent in three states (Arkansas, West Virginia and Mississippi), 22 states have rates above 30 percent, 45 states are above 25 percent, and every state is above 20 percent. Arkansas has the highest adult obesity rate at 35.9 percent, while Colorado has the lowest at 21.3 percent.
Connecticut now has the ninth lowest adult obesity rate in the nation, according to The State of Obesity: Better Policies for a Healthier America. Connecticut's adult obesity rate is currently 26.3 percent, up from 16.0 percent in 2000 and from 10.4 percent in 1990.
U.S. adult obesity rates remained mostly steady — but high — in 2014, the most recent full year data available, increasing in Kansas, Minnesota, New Mexico, Ohio and Utah and remaining stable in the rest.
The analysis also found that 9.2 percent of adults in the state have diabetes, an obesity-related health issue, ranking 35th in the nation as of 2014. It is the highest rate in the state in the past 25 years. The number of diabetes case is projected to increase from 267,944 in 2010 to 412,641 by 2030, at the current pace of increase.
The adult hypertension rate, 31.3 percent, ranks Connecticut 27th among the states. The number of hypertension cases is projected to increase from 708,945 in 2010 to 941,046 by 2030. Heart diseases is projected to increase from 214,986 people in 2010 to 1,014,057 in 2030, and obesity-related cancer is projected to more than double in 20 years, from 58,115 in 2010 to 147,883 in 2030.
The state-by-state analysis is a project of the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
