California has one of the lowest obesity rates of all U.S. states and the District of Columbia, according to a new report released Monday by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Trust for America's Health, Reuters reports (Simpson, Reuters, 8/13).
The report is based on 2011 CDC data, in which individuals from each state reported their own height and weight.
According to the report, people tend to underreport their weight, so the percentage of obese individuals likely is higher than findings indicate.
Obesity in California
The report found that California's obesity rate is 23.8%.
According to the report, California has the sixth-lowest obesity rate in the U.S., behind four other states and the District of Columbia (Hellmich, USA Today, 8/13).
National Findings
The report found that:
- Colorado has the lowest obesity rate at 20.7%;
- Mississippi has the highest obesity rate at 34.9% (Reuters, 8/13); and
- The South has the highest prevalence of obesity of all U.S. regions, while the West has the lowest prevalence of obesity of all regions (MacVean, Los Angeles Times, 8/13).