JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The number of obese adults, along with related disease rates and health care costs, is on course to increase dramatically in Florida over the next 20 years, according to a report released by Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
According to the "F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America's Future" study, the annual report forecasts adult obesity rates above 60 percent in 13 states by 2030, and rates above 44 percent in all 50 states.
If obesity rates continue on their current trajectories, the obesity rate in Florida could reach 58.6 percent by 2030. According to the latest data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2011, 26.6 percent of adults in the state were obese.
Georgia's projected obesity rate is only slightly better, forecast to rise from the CDC finding of 28 percent in 2011 to 53.6 percent by 2030.
The analysis also shows that states could prevent obesity-related diseases and dramatically reduce health care costs if they reduced the average body mass index of their residents by just 5 percent by 2030.
"This study shows us two futures for America's health," said Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, president and CEO. "At every level of government, we must pursue policies that preserve health, prevent disease and reduce health care costs. Nothing less is acceptable."
By 2030, Mississippi could have the highest obesity rate at 66.7 percent, and Colorado could have the lowest rate for any state at 44.8 percent. According to the latest data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, obesity rates in 2011 ranged from a high of 34.9 percent in Mississippi to a low of 20.7 percent in Colorado.