Indiana Ranks 10th in Adult Obesity, According to Annual Report

Posted on September 2, 2017
Author Michael Gallenberger, WKVI

Nearly one in three Hoosiers are now considered obese, giving the state the 10th highest adult obesity rate in the country. That’s according to the most recent State of Obesity report, issued this week by the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

It found that 32.5 percent of Indiana adults had a body mass index of at least 30 in 2016. That rate has remained relatively stable in recent years, but it’s 12 percentage points higher than it was back in 2000 and more than 19 percent higher than in 1990.

Hoosiers between the ages of 45 and 64 are most likely to be obese, with a rate of 38.4 percent in 2016. Indiana is doing a bit better when it comes to childhood obesity, with 14.3 percent of kids between the ages of 10 to 17 considered obese.

The State of Obesity report also looks at what states are doing to reduce obesity. Of the 21 policies the report looks at, Indiana has implemented 12 of them. For example, the state requires elementary, middle, and high school students to take part in physical education, but does not set a minimum amount of time, as some other states do. At the same time, Indiana is one of only five states to require recess in elementary schools.

For more information or to read the complete report, visit StateOfObesity.org.