And today, we've won at something else: being skinny.
In fact, we're the skinniest state in the U.S.A. according to the Trust for America's Health. Just 19.8 percent of our adults are obese.
Still, that's an increase from 1995, when 10.7 percent of Coloradans were obese. Despite the fact that our rate has nearly doubled in fifteen years, we're still number 51 on the list of obese states or districts, behind Washington, D.C. (21.7 percent) and Connecticut (21.8 percent). The most obese state in the union? Mississippi, at 34.4 percent. Alabama is number two.
Here are some more Colorado statistics, courtesy of the Trust for America's Health:
- In 1995, Colorado had a combined obesity and overweight rate of 43.3 percent. Ten years ago, it was 48.4 percent. Now, the combined rate is 56.2 percent.
- Diabetes rates have doubled in ten states in the past 15 years. In 1995, Colorado had a diabetes rate of 3.6 percent. Now, the diabetes rate is 5.9 percent.
- Adult obesity rates in Colorado were 27.9 percent for Blacks. Nationally, obesity rates for Blacks topped 40 percent in 15 states, 35 percent in 35 states, and 30 percent in 42 states and D.C.
- Rates of adult obesity for Latinos were 24.8 percent in Colorado. National Latino obesity rates were above 35 percent in four states (Mississippi, North Dakota, South Carolina, and Texas) and at 30 percent and above in 23 states.
- Rates of adult obesity for Whites topped 30 percent in just four states (Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee, and West Virginia) and no state had a rate higher than 32.1 percent. The rates of adult obesity for Whites were 18.3 percent in Colorado.
All of these state-by-state rankings in which Colorado features so prominently can only lead to one conclusion: skinny people make more consumer fraud complaints.
More from our News archives: "Denver water tastes like number two -- the second-best-tasting water in America!"
