Obesity rates still rising in many states

GREEN BAY - As a country, we're getting fatter. In 1995, no state had an obesity rate above 20%. Today, all but one does.

An annual obesity report by two public health groups looked at state-by-state statistics throughout the last two decades.

Statistics show a dozen states top 30% when it comes to adult obesity. Most of them are in the south. In 2006, only Mississippi was above 30.

Where does Wisconsin fall? It currently ranks 25th on the obesity chart, with 27.4% of adults being obese.

Officials say that's up about 11% since 1995 and believe convenience and cost of food are some of the culprits.

"Food prices for food that is lower nutrition quality, higher fat, higher sugar, less nutrition, that we want to see, they cost less," explained Nutrition Education Program Coordinator, Karen Early. "The environment is what supports our decisions, and the access to food has changed, the kind of physical activity we get has changed."

Locally, Early says, Brown County is near the state's adult average, but its childhood obesity that is a growing concern.

"Year to year, we can see an increase in the rate of obesity," Early said. "In 2008 our young children were at 19%, and it's about 26% now of overweight and obesity."

The statistics are ultimately based on the body mass index, which is a measurement based on height and weight.

That's something some critics feel can be deceiving.

"Some experts see that BMI is just a height and weight ratio, so in that they're not taking into account body type, muscle mass, etc. So it can be skewed at some times. There are other factors and other ways to collect the data, but BMI is one of them that some support and some don't," explained YMCA Member Experience Director, Ryan Zietlow.

But whatever the measurement may be, some Americans, especially the next generation, may still need to make changes.

Click here to view the complete obesity rankings list.

Click here to calculate your body mass index (BMI).