DENVER — By yet another measure, Colorado is the fittest state in the U.S. But the good news comes amid unsettling health indicators for the country as a whole.
A joint study between The Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found that just 21.3 percent of Colorado residents qualify as obese, giving the state the lowest obesity rate in the U.S. That puts Colorado well ahead of other healthy states such as Hawaii, Utah and Montana.
The bad news is that even Colorado’s relatively low number means that one in five of its residents is dangerously overweight — and that’s the best-case scenario in the entire country.
All 10 states with the highest rates of obesity are in the South or Midwest, the study found; with Mississippi tipping the scales at a 35.1 percent obesity rate. Northeastern and Western states had the lowest obesity rates.
According to the study, six states saw a meaningful spike in obesity rates. They include:
- Alaska (ranked 28th most obese)
- Delaware (13th)
- Idaho (23rd)
- New Jersey (39th)
- Tennessee (4th)
- Wyoming (30th)