10th Highest Obesity Rate in Ohio

Obesity is becoming a nationwide problem, and Ohio has the tenth highest obesity rate of all 50 states.

Zanesville-Muskingum County Health Department’s Dr. Vicki Whitacre says the lifestyles we live today have changed from those of the past.

“It has to do with i think we have more population in the state of Ohio, and we all are sedentary. We are eating too much. So, consequently, we are the typical home-cooked people that are eating all the fried foods and all our local restaurants. We’re just not active enough, which is the biggest problem, ” says Whitacre.

Whitacre says the biggest concern seems to be the growing number of children who are obese. She says one in three kids are either overweight or obese, and obesity can cause a wide variety of health problems.

“Heart disease, hypertension, diabetes. We are seeing children, teenagers with diabetes, ” says Whitacre.

Whitacre says there is a difference between being overweight and obese. A person is overweight is he or she is 30 pounds over your “normal” weight. She says you are obese if you are 70-80 pounds over your “normal” weight. Whitacre says you can figure out your “normal” weight by calculating your BMI, Body Mass Index.