CDC: 26 percent of U.S. adults obese

ATLANTA, July 17 (UPI) -- An estimated 26 percent of U.S. adults reported being obese in 2007 compared to 24 percent in 2005, an increase of almost 2 percent, health officials say.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report also said none of the 50 states or the District of Columbia has achieved the Healthy People 2010 goal to reduce obesity prevalence to 15 percent or less.

In three states -- Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee -- the prevalence of self-reported obesity among adults age 18 or older was more than 30 percent, while Colorado had the lowest obesity prevalence at 19 percent. Obesity is defined as a body mass index of 30 or above.

The data was used from CDC′s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, a state-based telephone survey that collects information from adults. For this survey, more than 350,000 adults are interviewed each year. Body Mass Index was calculated based on this self-reported information.

The survey found that obesity is more prominent in the South -- 27 percent were classified as obese, compared to 25 percent in the Midwest, 23 percent in the Northeast and 22 percent in the West.