Fort Wayne’s VA Medical Center is striving to rebound from “a very bad reputation,” an official told military veterans Tuesday evening.NEW YORK – We Americans already know how fat we are. Can it get much worse?
Apparently, yes, according to an advocacy group that predicts that by 2030 more than half the people in the vast majority of states will be obese.
Mississippi is expected to retain its crown as the fattest state in the nation for at least two more decades. The report predicts 67 percent of that state’s adults will be obese by 2030; that would be an astounding increase from Mississippi’s current 35 percent obesity rate.
The new projections were released Tuesday by Trust for America’s Health with funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
The group’s dismal forecast goes beyond the 42 percent national obesity level that federal health officials project by 2030. The group predicts every state would have rates above 44 percent by that time, although it didn’t calculate an overall national average.
About two-thirds of Americans are overweight now. That includes those who are obese, a group that accounts for about 36 percent. Obesity rates have held steady in recent years. Obesity is defined as having a body-mass index of 30 or more, a measure of weight for height.
Trust for America’s Health officials said their projections are based in part on state-by-state surveys by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 1999 through 2010. The phone surveys ask residents to self-report their height and weight; people aren’t always so accurate about that.
The researchers then looked at other national data tracking residents’ weight and measurements and made adjustments for how much people in each state might fudge the truth about their weight. They also tried to apply recent trends in obesity rates, along with other factors, to make the predictions.
Officials with Trust for America’s Health said they believe their projections are reasonable. And New York City’s health commissioner agreed.
“If we don’t do anything, I think that’s a fair prediction,” said Dr. Thomas Farley, whose city recently banned supersized sugary drinks to curb obesity.
Trust for America projects that by 2030, 13 states would have adult obesity rates above 60 percent, 39 states might have rates above 50 percent, and every state would have rates above 44 percent.
Even in the thinnest state – Colorado, where about one-fifth of residents are obese – 45 percent would be obese by 2030.
In Indiana, the obesity rate is at 31 percent and is predicted to be at 56 percent in 2030.
