Virginia Has Fastest Growing Obesity Rate
The obesity rate in Virginia is expanding more rapidly than anywhere else in the United States, according to a new federal telephone survey.
It found that 23.7 percent of 1,027 Virginia residents who took part in the survey qualified as obese, a weighty increase from 9.9 percent of 170 respondents in 1990, the Associated Press reported.
But there's hope. Currently, state officials are trying to identify the reasons for Virginia's increasing obesity rate to develop weight control strategies.
Despite having the fastest growing obesity rate in the nation, Virginia doesn't have the highest percentage of obese adults, the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey found.
That dubious distinction goes to West Virginia at 27.5 percent, followed by Mississippi with 26.8 percent and Texas with 25.5 percent.
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