It’s no secret that obesity is a growing epidemic in the U.S. and can lead to a gamut of health complications. Early death, heart disease, diabetes, and many more healthy maladies have been linked to obesity. But the problem is not evenly distributed—some states in the U.S. have healthier populations than others, including the State of Hawai‘i.
Obesity is defined by the CDC using the Body Mass Indicator (BMI) scale and accounts for the height and weight of an individual. For adults, a BMI of more than 30 qualifies as obese.
In 1990, the obesity rate was roughly 15%. Since then that number has doubled. The most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that roughly 30% of adults in the U.S. were obese as of 2017.
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It’s no secret that obesity is a growing epidemic in the U.S. and can lead to a gamut of health complications. Early death, heart disease, diabetes, and many more healthy maladies have been linked to obesity. But the problem is not evenly distributed—some states in the U.S. have healthier populations than others, including the State of Hawai‘i.
