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Kentucky Has 8th Highest Adult Obesity Rate

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A new report shows the number of Kentucky’s preschoolers who are obese dropped by about 5 percent between 2010 and 2014. However, the obesity rankings for the state’s high school students and adults were among the worst in the U.S.

According to the State of Obesity report by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Kentucky has the eighth highest adult obesity rate in the nation. The obesity rate for the state’s children ages 10 to 17 is the 14th highest in the country.

Last year more than 20% of the state’s high school students were obese. The adult ranking wasn’t much better. More than 34% of adults in Kentucky were obese in 2016.

The Messenger-Inquirer reports starting this year, Kentucky is expected to spend $6 billion annually for health care costs related to obesity. States with obesity rates worse than the commonwealth’s include Tennessee, West Virginia, and Mississippi.

Becca Schimmel is a Becca Schimmel is a multimedia journalist with the Ohio Valley ReSource a collaborative of public radio stations in Kentucky, West Virginia and Ohio. She's based out of the WKU Public Radio newsroom in Bowling Green.
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