export_ofoct.com (1)

[00:00.67] Cunningham said, “Seeing increases in severe obesity is even more alarming because that’s the level of obesity that’s most highly associated with some of the highest levels of cardiovascular disease and diabetes and lower quality of life.”

[00:26.96] Cunningham, who was not involved in the new study, said it is not clear why rates of severe obesity are going up.

[00:35.46] Cunningham also said it is not clear why severe obesity rates were higher among women.

[00:40.77] Reasons could include the effects of hormones, the effects of childbearing or other causes that require further study, she said.

[00:51.93] The new study also found that obesity rates varied by education.

[00:57.77] Almost 32 percent of people with a bachelor’s degree or higher reported having obesity.

[01:04.95] In comparison, about 45 percent of those with some college or less had obesity.

[01:13.45] The new report follows the release earlier this month of data from U.S. states and territories that showed that in 2023, the rate of obesity differed widely by place.

[01:29.12] The highest obesity levels were in West Virginia.

[01:33.37] Around 41 percent of adults in the state are obese.

[01:38.95] The lowest levels were in Washington, D.C., with less than 24 percent of adults being obese.

[01:47.71] Obesity rates were highest in the Midwest and the South.

[01:53.02] All U.S. states and territories had obesity rates higher than 20 percent.

[02:00.20] In 23 states, more than 1 in 3 adults had obesity, the data showed.

[02:08.16] Before 2013, no state had a rate that high, said Dr. Alyson Goodman, who leads a CDC team focused on population health.

[02:21.18] Color-coded maps show the obesity rates across the U.S.

[02:26.76] “Sometimes, when you look at all that red, it’s really discouraging,” Goodman said.

[02:33.13] But, she added, recent attention on understanding obesity as a metabolic disease and new drug treatments give her hope.

[02:43.76] Preventing obesity is most important, Cunningham said, starting in early childhood.

[02:51.73] And for people already dealing with obesity, preventing additional weight gain should be the goal.