ATLANTA — New data published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (B.R.F.S.S.) finds the prevalence of adult obesity in the United States during 2011 remained high, with no state reporting a rate below 20%. Colorado had the lowest prevalence of obesity at 20.7% while Mississippi was the highest with a rate of 34.9%. Twelve states had an obesity rate above 30%, including Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas and West Virginia.
On a regional basis, the south had the highest prevalence of adult obesity at 29.5%, followed by the Midwest (29%), the Northeast (25.3%) and the West (24.3%).
The C.D.C. said changes in the 2011 B.R.F.S.S. survey methodology means the results should not be compared to past B.R.F.S.S. surveys. Specifically, the C.D.C. incorporated cell phone-only households into the survey and added a new weighting process to ensure that the sample better represent the population in each state.