Digital Media Center
Bryant-Denny Stadium, Gate 61
920 Paul Bryant Drive
Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0370
(800) 654-4262

© 2024 Alabama Public Radio
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Alabama Ranks 8th In National Obesity Study

A new report by two public health groups says Alabama has the eighth highest adult obesity rate in the nation.
istockphoto
A new report by two public health groups says Alabama has the eighth highest adult obesity rate in the nation.

A new report by two public health groups says Alabama has the eighth highest adult obesity rate in the nation.

The report released Thursday by the Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found that 32.4 percent of Alabama's adults are obese.

Mississippi and West Virginia tied for first place at 35.1 percent. Colorado had the lowest rate at 21.3 percent.

In Alabama, the two groups found that the obesity rate for white adults was 29.8 percent. It was 27.3 percent for Latino adults and 41.8 percent for black adults.

Trust for America's Health executive director Jeffrey Levi says to reduce the numbers, efforts need to start in early childhood to promote healthy eating and increased physical activity.

Related Content
News from Alabama Public Radio is a public service in association with the University of Alabama. We depend on your help to keep our programming on the air and online. Please consider supporting the news you rely on with a donation today. Every contribution, no matter the size, propels our vital coverage. Thank you.