Report: 27 Percent Of Wisconsinites Are Obese

A new report says that some Wisconsinites might need to work harder to tighten their belts — literally.

The report released Tuesday by two public-health groups said that 27 percent of adults in the state are obese. That percentage puts the state at 24th place in the country.

Wisconsin faired better when it came to childhood obesity, ranking 36th, with 13 percent obesity.

The state of Mississippi remains the most obese state in both childhood and adult obesity. Oregon and Colorado were the slimmest states.

According to the report, nearly half of all adult blacks in Wisconsin are obese. As such, Wisconsin leads the nation in that dubious category. It said 44 percent of that state’s adult blacks meet the clinical definition of obese, which is calculated using a person’s weight and height.

Laura Segal, of the Trust for America’s Health, which is one of the groups that produced the report, said as a general guideline, a person who’s about 30 pounds overweight is considered obese.

Wisconsin’s adult Latinos fared better on the report. About a quarter were considered obese, better than 42 other states.

Stay tuned to WISC-TV and Channel 3000 for continuing coverage.