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MINNEAPOLIS, July 21, 2008—The march to obesity over the past 20 years has been steady, according to the new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), with a quarter of the population now qualifying as obese.

The percentage of U.S. adults who are obese (having a body mass index or BMI of 30 or above) grew by nearly 2 percent between 2005 and 2007, from just under 24 percent to 25.6 percent. 

In 1990, no state had a prevalence of obesity equal to or greater than 15 percent.  By 2007, less than 20 years later, only one state (Colorado) had a prevalence of obesity less than 20 percent. Thirty states had a prevalence equal to or greater than 25 percent (including Minnesota). And three of these states (Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee) had a prevalence of obesity equal to or greater than 30 percent.

CDC researchers used data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, an annual telephone survey of more than 350,000 adults.

Southerners are the heaviest Americans, on average, with 27 percent obese. Just over 25 percent of adults in the Midwest, 23 percent in the Northeast, and 22 percent in the West were obese.

The MMA website has many resources on obesity available. Here is a list of resources for physicians and here is another just for patients.