Fattest States in America

People nowadays have become extremely health conscious. If they gain even a few excess pound, they hit the nearest gym and also keep a strict eye on their diet. The various problems that a fat or an obese person faces, can only be understood by one who is facing the same problem or who had faced such problems earlier. Obesity, specially childhood obesity, has become a major concern, mainly in the developed countries. Obesity can lead to various health issues in future, if not taken care of from a very early age. Heart problems, breathing problems, diabetes at a very young age, high cholesterol level and also high blood pressure, etc. Besides health issues, people face problems in the society as well, when others makes fun of them. There are some states in United States of America, which have been termed as the 'fattest states in America'. Interested in knowing which are the top 10 fattest states? Given below is the list which you can refer to (as of 2010).

Top 10 States

Obesity in America has been and it still is a major concern. Obesity is a medical condition, where a person gains weight drastically, or where accumulation of body fat takes place, which in turn leads to various health related issues (some of which I have talked about already) and also reduces the life expectancy. The Body Mass Index (BMI) of an overweight person is on a scale of 25 kg/m square to 30 kg/m square. If the BMI goes beyond 30 kg/m square, then the person is said to be obese. Here is the list of states where most of the people are way above the maximum BMI level.

#1 Mississippi
The American state which tops the list of fattest states in the US, is Mississippi. 33% of the people here suffer from the problem of obesity and it's mainly adults who are obese. This state has been selected as the fattest state, 6th time in a row. It's not something to be proud of.

#2 and #3 Tennessee and Alabama
The next position, according to the obesity statistics in America, is the state of Tennessee. Here around 32% of the population suffer from obesity. This second position is a tie between Tennessee and Alabama, where people face the similar problems. Some experts have pointed out that the main causes of obesity in America and in these states, are lack of proper education, low income rate, grocery stores located at a great distance, and also the recession. All these factors, force people to depend on cheap, unhealthy food.

#4 West Virginia
Around 31.4% of the people in West Virginia suffer from obesity. This is because of too much of fast food and too little exercise.

#5 Louisiana
The 5th fattest state in America is Louisiana. The main cause of obesity here, as some people have pointed out, is mainly the sugared soft drinks as well as the free refills that people here have the privilege of. Reduce that, and half your problem will be solved.

#6 Oklahoma
Although, right now it occupies the position of the sixth fattest state in America, Oklahoma, is very fast approaching the top level. Adult obesity has become a major problem here. Steps have been taken to get this under control, with proper diet in schools and regular check ups for obesity in schools.

#7 Kentucky
Lack of proper physical activities due to improvement in electronic gadgets., easy availability of cheap fried fast food, are some of the major causes for this state of Kentucky to be the 7th fattest state in America.

#8 Arkansas
Results shows that every one in three people from Arkansas, are suffering from the problem of obesity. It's the children who suffer from more than the adults.

9 South Carolina
The 9th state in the list is South Carolina with 28% of the people suffering from obesity.

#10 Michigan and North Carolina
The 10th position is tied between North Carolina and the state of Michigan with nearly 27% of the people facing problems of obesity. If proper actions are not taken, then very soon, these states might climb higher up in the fattest states ladder.

You can also learn more about the fattest cities in America. This is not something that one should be proud of. If people do not take action soon, then the adults as well as the children will face problem in the future. Health will be affected and so will the life expectancy rate. So proper physical exercise as well as proper healthy diet is important.