Poor states among the fattest: survey

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Louisiana, Mississippi and West Virginia have the highest percentage of obese residents, while Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii and Vermont have the lowest, the government reported on Thursday.

The survey of 300,000 adults by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that overall, 60.5 percent of Americans were overweight, 23.9 percent were obese, and 3 percent were extremely obese.

Obesity was as common in men as in women -- 24 percent in both. Among ethnic groups, non-Hispanic blacks had the highest rates, with just under 34 percent of those surveyed considered obese, according to the survey known as the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.

The overall obesity rate of 23.9 percent is up from 15.6 percent in 1995 and 19.8 percent in 2000, the CDC said. The report can be found at http://www.cdc.gov.

But the rate is significantly lower than the one reported in another government survey, called the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, or NHANES, which found that 32 percent of U.S. adults were obese in 2004.

The latest survey relied on people's estimates of their height and weight to calculate whether they are overweight or obese, while the NHANES measured and weighed people.

Experts say both kinds of survey are important for comparing state-to-state data and differences among ethnic groups.

The CDC survey found that Louisiana, Mississippi, and West Virginia had obesity rates of 30 percent or more, while Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, and Vermont boasted rates of less than 17 percent.

According to the Health and Human Services Department, Louisiana, Mississippi and West Virginia are among the six poorest U.S. states, based on welfare need.