An annual report tracking obesity rates state-by-state finds Tennessee to be a little bit thinner than the previous year, especially compared to other southern states.
Tennessee fell several positions to having the 15th-highest obesity rate in the nation.
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has been tracking these stats going back to 1990, when just one in nine Tennesseans were considered obese. Now, it’s one in three, but that’s down slightly. Tennessee has at times ranked as high as No. 2 in the nation.
More:
See maps of how obesity rates have changed in all 50 states
It’s unclear why Tennessee saw a dip in obesity, though there have been a number of statewide efforts to help residents lose weight. The
Golden Sneaker initiative inserts more activity in childcare facilities, and the state recently
received a $4.3 million grant to attack obesity in school-age children, where
Tennessee leads the nation.
Most states were statistically unchanged from 2016. Florida remains, by far, the leanest state in the south.
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