The Centers for Disease Control has published a study according to which 1 in 4 American adults is obese. The finding is extremely disturbing taking into account that during the last 2 years when a similar study took place, authorities have led numerous campaigns to prevent obesity. In spite of these efforts, there was found that the percent of people suffering from obesity has increased with 2 percent, reaching a national mean value of 25.6 percent in 2007.

The most affected region is the South, where about 27 percent of the people included in the study were found to have a BMI (Body Mass Index) higher than 30, which represents the threshold above which people are considered obese. The BMI takes into consideration the person’s height and weight to generate a number that most health agencies use to determine the degree of excess weigh people have.

Mississippi, Tennessee and Alabama are the states with the highest rate of obesity among their inhabitants. About 30 percent of the people living in these states can be considered obese by CDC standards. Some explanations for why this happens are poverty and the traditional Southern diet that is high in calories.

Unfortunately, studies that show that obese people are more likely to develop some form of heart disease or type 2 diabetes have been confirmed once more. The South has also the highest rate of people suffering from these illnesses.

The state that seems to have the thinnest inhabitants is Colorado. Only 18 percent of the people living in this state suffer from obesity.