Report: Washington Has More Fat Asses Than Ever

Washington has really let itself go. Sure, back in the '90s we were a fit, bike-riding, trail-hiking forest state chock-full of people who either exercised daily in mosh pits or did enough heroin to stay skinny. But according to a new report, we're all a bunch of Fatty McFattersons now.

The report by the groups Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is called "F As in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America's Future 2011." It looks at obesity rates in all 50 states and the legal and social factors that may lead to more people getting fat and fat people getting fatter.

This year, for the first time, the report examined how the obesity epidemic has grown over the past two decades. Twenty years ago, no state had an obesity rate above 15 percent. Today, more than two out of three states, 38 total, have obesity rates over 25 percent, and just one has a rate lower than 20 percent. Since 1995, when data was available for every state, obesity rates have doubled in seven states and increased by at least 90 percent in 10 others. Obesity rates have grown fastest in Oklahoma, Alabama, and Tennessee, and slowest in Washington, D.C., Colorado, and Connecticut.

In Washington's case, the state's residents are still slightly slimmer than average--we rank 28th on the list of fattest states.

But the most belt-busting figure comes from how fat Evergreen State residents have become since they were last measured.

According to the report ,Washington's obesity rate went from 13.9 percent in 1995 to 26.4 percent now. That's a 90 percent increase in 16 years.

Other stats pointed out by the study.

--Adult obesity rates for Blacks topped 40 percent in 15 states, 35 percent in 35 states, and 30 percent in 42 states and D.C.

--Rates of adult obesity among Latinos were above 35 percent in four states (Mississippi, North Dakota, South Carolina, and Texas) and at least 30 percent in 23 states.

--Meanwhile, rates of adult obesity for Whites topped 30 percent in just four states (Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee, and West Virginia) and no state had a rate higher than 32.1 percent.

--Nearly 33 percent of adults who did not graduate high school are obese, compared with 21.5 percent of those who graduated from college or technical college.

The only bright spot in Washington's chubby profile is apparently the kids. Washington is tied with Minnesota as the having the third-fewest obese kids aged 10 to 17.

Adults, obviously, are another story. A fat, fat story.

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