So What?

1) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, part of the United States Department of Heath and Human Services, has a
Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), which makes monthly, state-based, telephone surveys of the adult
population. BMI was derived from self-reported weight and height.

2) BMI = weight(lb)*703/height(in)² in Imperial units or weight(kg)/height(m)² in metric units. Obese is defined as BMI 30 or
greater.

3) For example, for a 6 foot (72 inch) tall person to have a BMI of 30 would require them to weigh 221 lbs. A 5 foot (60 inch) tall
person with a BMI of 30 would weigh 154 lbs.

4) This video shows a general trend of an increasing percentage of the population becoming obese from 2004 to 2008.

5) In 2004, areas in which more than 30 percent of the population is obese is concentrated in Alabama and Mississippi, along
with small sections of Louisiana, Arkansas, North and South Carolina, Kentucky, West Virginia, North and South Dakota,
Montana, and Alaska.

6) In 2004, a large areas in Colorado has populations with less than 15 percent obesity, as well as some small areas in New
Mexico, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho.

7) By 2008, most counties in the southeastern United States, along many in the central plains states, and most of Alaska have
obesity rates over 30 percent. Most other states have several counties with high obesity rates.

8) By 2008, only a few counties in Colorado, plus one each in Wyoming, Utah, and New Mexico have populations with less than
15 percent obesity.

9) See also Diabetes in America.