Nearly two-thirds of adults in the United States are overweight or obese, and the numbers are rising in nearly half of all US states, dpa quoted an annual report as releasing today. Obesity rates climbed in 23 US states and stayed steady in all others over the past year, according to the sixth "F as in Fat" report by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Trust for America's Health. About one-third of children and teenagers are also overweight or obese, and the report said the numbers are only likely to get higher because of the country's deep recession. The economic downturn means less families can afford healthy foods, the report warned. The numbers are also putting a strain on the US health care system, which is already near breaking point. Mississippi has the highest rate of obesity in the country and eight of the top ten states are in the South. Congress is currently considering wide-ranging reforms to the US health care system, an effort that has failed many times over the last decades. The two health groups pushed for better obesity prevention to be high on lawmakers' list of priorities.
