Half of the adults in America will be obese by 2030, according to the findings of a report from the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The “F as in Fat” report highlights the current gloomy picture of the nation’s obesity epidemic, in which 35 percent of adults and 17 percent of children are obese, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently reported. The report built on state-by-state data from the CDC to project obesity rates. In every state, that rate will reach at least 44 percent by 2030, said the report. In 13 states, more than 60 percent of residents will be obese. The report projects that Mississippi will continue to be the heaviest state, with 66.7 percent of adults obese and Colorado will continue to be the ‘leanest’ with an obesity rate just under 45 percent.

California is among the states with the lowest rates of obesity, but even so, nearly a quarter of adults in the state were obese in 2011.  The ‘F as in Fat’ report projects that the percentage of obese Californians will swell to 46.6 percent in 2030. Obesity carries health and economic costs. It is a risk factor for several medical conditions, including diabetes, hypertension, arthritis and some cancers and is responsible for billions of health care costs each year. In California alone, the economic costs of overweight, obesity and physical inactivity are estimated at $41 billion a year, says the report.

As with all projections, human actions can prevent the worst of the scenarios, according to health policy experts. You can learn about how to make healthier food choices and ideas to get the family moving by visiting http://www.healthiergeneration.org/parents.aspx. For those struggling with severe obesity, weight loss surgery is an effective treatment option. You can learn more about the procedures performed by Dr. Mona Misra, such as the lap-band or gastric bypass surgery, by scheduling a free consultation by calling (424) 999-5677.