A new report shows West Virginia leads the nation in the obesity rate among adults.Photo byAliaonUnsplash

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- West Virginia has the highest rate of obesity among adults in the nation, a new report concludes.

According to the study by the nonprofit Trust for America’s Health (TFAH), 41.2 percent of West Virginians were considered obese in 2023, just ahead of Mississippi (40.1 percent) and Arkansas (40.0 percent).

The report used data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System to reach those findings.

The CDC defines obesity as a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher for adults 20 and older.

Individuals with obesity are at greater risk for certain health conditions, officials say. The CDC says the disease can increase risk of:

• High blood pressure and high cholesterol, both of which are risk factors for heart disease;
• Type 2 diabetes;
• Breathing problems, such as asthma and sleep apnea;
• Joint problems; and
• Gallstones and gallbladder disease.

Obesity also has an economic impact, the CDC notes. One 2021 report found that obesity-related medical care expenses cost Americans $173 billion. Obesity-related absenteeism leads to a nationwide productivity loss of between $3.38 billion and $6.38 billion per year, according to experts.

Socioeconomic, environmental factors in obesity

Officials say that while individual behavior does play a factor in the state obesity rate, the root cause goes much deeper.

“The obesity epidemic is not only about individual behavior; socioeconomic and environmental factors which are largely beyond any one person's control have a significant role,” Dr. J. Nadine Gracia, MD, said in a release announcing TFAH's new report. “Policymakers need to act to address this growing health crisis."

WVU Research Assistant Professor Joshua Lohnes said some of the blame for the nation’s food insecurity -- and, ultimately, the rise in poor food options that lead to obesity -- falls on the federal government and corporate agri-business.

“The federal government is complicit in a food system that segments people along racial and economic lines," Lohnes said. “We face troubling concentrations of power in the agri-business and corporate food sectors that reinforce these inequalities."

Lohnes is co-founder of the National Right to Food Community of Practice, a nonprofit group that advocates for food and nutrition rights in the U.S.

In response to their report’s findings, TFAH has released a list of recommended policy actions they think would help both state and federal agencies better respond to the ongoing obesity epidemic. Their suggestions include:

• Increasing federal resources to reduce obesity-related disparities;
• Decreasing food and nutrition insecurity while improving the nutritional quality of available foods;
• Encouraging the FDA to implement a front-of-package label to help consumers make informed nutrition choices; and
• Addressing root causes of chronic diseases by incentivizing multi-sector collaborations to address social and non-medical drivers of health, among other recommendations.

TFAH’s full report and recommendations can be read on their website.

Michael Ramsburg is a Kanawha County communities reporter. He can be reached at ramsburgreports@gmail.com or by calling 304-370-3067.