More Than Half of Americans Are Overweight

According to a new Gallup poll, even in Colorado 55.1% percent of people are overweight or obese

By Jessica Chou, Editor

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Aug 16, 2012 @ 1:42 PM

Despite recent polls from CDC saying that Mississippi is the most obese state, when looking at total obesity and overweight numbers, Gallup found that West Virginia was the worst off, with 69.3 percent of the population being overweight or obese.

Mississippi did come in second with their numbers, however (68.8 percent). But Colorado's population, even with the lowest obesity rate in the country, is still 55.1 percent overweight or obese.

Looking at BMI numbers at 177,663 U.S. adults from January through June 2012, an average of 62.8 percent are overweight or obese, when compared to the normal BMI from the World Health Organization.

Other findings reflect CDC numbers; West Coasters and New Englanders are more likely to be healthy, while those living in the South or MidWest have higher overweight and obesity rates. In the top ten, almost 7 in 10 adults are either overweight or obese. Scary numbers, which might call for even harsher laws to improve the health of Americans.