Illinoisans Are (Still) Getting Fatter

By Chuck Sudo in Food on Jun 29, 2010 9:40PM

A report released today by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Trust for America's Health finds that adult obesity levels in Illinois increased by nearly a full percentage point in the past year. The Land of Lincoln is now the 26th-ranked state in the nation for adult obesity.

Overall, the report showed that adults in 28 states became more obese, while the District of Columbia was the only area that showed a decrease in obesity. The trends only become more disturbing when broken down by race/ethnicity and sex. In Illinois, the percentage of adult men considered obese is 27.8 percent (compared to 25.5 percent of Illinois adult women. Meanwhile 35.5 percent of all blacks and 30.6 percent of Hispanics in Illinois are obese. The report also breaks down the data to determine how poverty affects obesity; six of the states with the highest poverty rates are also in the top ten for obesity. [Tribune]