A national report released Monday shows Ohio has the 11th highest obesity rate in the country.
Only six states, including Ohio, had significant increases in their obesity rate between 2016 and 2017. Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation conducted the annual study, which found more than 33 percent of people in the state are obese.
“This is a team effort,” said J.C. Benton from the Ohio Department of Health. “We all have to do our part to make sure that everyone can keep a healthy lifestyle and maintain a healthy weight and excel in all that they do.”
Ohio ranked ninth for children and teenagers with obesity. Ohio only has requirements for high school students to participate in physical education, but has no requirements for elementary or middles school, nor any time requirements for students to participate in a minimum amount of physical education.
“Adolescents spend a lot of time on screens and technology and we want to make sure that they’re getting the healthy exercise that they need to maintain healthy weight," Benton said.
Ohio was in the top 15 states with high rates of diabetes, hypertension and low physical activity.
