Too big all over
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From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I'm Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.
America's obesity problem has been growing. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says data show at least 20 percent of adults in all states and the District of Columbia were obese, as were 30 percent of people in 12 states. At the CDC, researcher Bettylou Sherry says obesity rates varied by region:
"The South has the highest rate, at 29.4 percent; Midwest is next, at 28.7 percent; the Northeast, a little less, at 24.9 percent, and lowest in the West, at 24.1 percent.'' (14 seconds)
She notes that obesity raises the risks of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and some cancers.
The CDC shows the data in maps.
Learn more at hhs.gov.
HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I'm Ira Dreyfuss.