1 in 4 Illinois Adults is Obese -- a Record

“For the first time, at least one in every four Illinois adults is obese. The alarming statistic was published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention today in an annual update on obesity rates across the country. The CDC found that in 2008 Illinois was among 32 states where 25 percent or more of adults were, to put it bluntly, fat. Officially, obesity counts as having a body mass index – a ratio of weight to height – of 30 percent or higher. To put that in perspective, two decades ago no state counted more than 15 percent of adults as obese. That hurdle was passed in 1991 by four states, including Michigan. In 1996, three states, including Indiana and Kentucky, passed the 20 percent mark. In 2001, Mississippi became the first state where at least 25 percent of adults were excessively heavy.

http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/triage/2009/07/1-in-4-illinoisans-is-obese-a-record.html