Tenn. ranks high in adult, child obesity

Chris Echegaray

State health officials say Tennessee is making progress in fighting fat, but a report released Wednesday still ranked the state fourth in the nation for its percentage of obese adults.

The report from Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation showed 30.2 percent of Tennessee adults are obese. It also ranked the state fifth for childhood obesity, with 36.5 percent of youth ages 10-17 in that category.

Tennesseans have to get up from their desks for some physical activity, said Pam Davis, director of the Centennial Center for the Treatment of Obesity in Nashville.

They must stop rewarding themselves with food, she said.

"There's a lot that can be done to fight this, and it starts with us as individuals," Davis said. "I really think the state needs to see obesity as a chronic, multifactorial disease that has a genetic component."

Missisippi was ranked the nation's most obese state and Colorado the least.

Last year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ranked Tennessee third. State Health Commissioner Susan Cooper said she wasn't surprised by Wednesday's rankings because most of the states with a high rate of obesity are in the South.

However, Tennessee has taken steps to combat the troubling issue with statewide programs like Get Fit Tennessee, a program that promotes a healthier diet and addresses diabetes, she said.

"I will be the first to tell you we have a long way to go, but we are making significant inroads into this, and improvements are being made," she said.

Cooper said another way to battle girth issues is having sidewalks, safe playgrounds and greenways.

Gov. Phil Bredesen cited the new report Wednesday when he vetoed a bill that would have limited some agencies' ability to require calorie counts on menus.