Obesity is a big deal, no pun intended. According to new data from the 15th annual State of Obesity: Better Policies for a Healthier America, from Trust for America's Health (TFAH) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, no state in the country saw a statistically significant improvement in its obesity rate over the past year. According to the report, newly released data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System indicate that states having high adult obesity rates are on the rise; in fact, no less than one in five adults in every state is obese. Related: Moving the needle on obesity Of course, not all states have the same level of obesity. In Colorado, for instance, the rate is the lowest in the country, at 22.6 percent, but in West Virginia it's a different story; 38.1 percent of its residents are obese. As short a time ago as 2012, no state had an obesity rate that topped 35 percent. Six states had better watch out, since their obesity rates have increased substantially between 2016 and 2017: Iowa and Oklahoma, now topping 35 percent, as well as Massachusetts, Ohio, Rhode Island and South Carolina. In 22 states, the rate has climbed to between 30 and 35 percent; another 19 states have adult obesity rates between 25 and 30 percent. And big changes have come just over the last five years—2012–2017; 31 states had statistically significant increases in their obesity rate, with zero states having a statistically significant decrease. The lack of healthy food options plays a role in the obesity levels in black and Latino communities, low-income and rural communities, where rates are highest. According to National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data, the report says, adult obesity rates for Latinos (47.0 percent) and blacks (46.8 percent) nationally are much higher than among whites (37.9 percent). In addition, 34.2 percent of adults living in rural areas are obese, compared to 28.7 percent of adults living in metro areas. Employers should be concerned about these statistics, since, according to the report, "[o]besity drives an estimated $149 billion annually in directly related health care spending, and an additional $66 billion annually in lowered economic productivity." Another aspect of the problem is vulnerability in national security, since a third of young adults are ineligible for military service thanks to being overweight.

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Marlene Satter

Marlene Y. Satter has worked in and written about the financial industry for decades.