JACKSON, Miss. — Mississippi has the second-highest adult obesity rate in the country, with only West Virginia having a higher rate.
Those findings are included in a national report released Wednesday, which shows Mississippi’s rate tops 37 percent, up from around 24 percent in 2000. The information comes from the nonpartisan Trust for America’s Health and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Mississippi’s problem is most acute in people aged 45 to 64, with an obesity rate reaching 42 percent. The report shows disparities by race, with about 45 percent of black adults in Mississippi considered obese, compared to 32 percent of white adults.
Mississippi is one of seven states where adult obesity rates exceed 35 percent of the population. West Virginia ranks highest, at 38 percent. Colorado is lowest, at just under 23 percent.