It’s a heavy-duty problem, with an emphasis on heavy.

According to a new WalletHub report, New Jersey ranks 40th out of the 50 states and Washington, D.C., when it comes to the percentage of adults who are either overweight or obese.

That’s the good news.

On the flip side, the report finds New Jersey has the second-highest percentage of adults who are overweight. (Wyoming is first)

Jersey has a relatively low percentage of obese adults (46th out of the 50 states) compared to the rest of the nation.

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Too many people are too big

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finds more than 70% of adults in the U.S. aged 20 and older are either overweight or obese.

While overweight means above a weight considered normal or desirable, obesity, according to the World Health Organization, is defined as a disorder involving excessive body fat, when someone has a body mass index of 30 or higher.

The state with the highest obesity rate in America is West Virginia, followed by Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi and Oklahoma.

Arizona has the third higher percentage of overweight adults, followed by California and Tennessee.

The area with the lowest percentage of overweight adults is the District of Columbia.

The WalletHub report compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 31 key metrics. The data set ranges from the share of obese and overweight population to sugary-beverage consumption among adolescents to obesity-related health care costs.

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More must be done

The report notes recent findings of the Physical Activity Council suggest a need for more aggressive efforts to combat the issue. According to the report, 72.2 million Americans aged 6 and older were completely inactive in 2021. Lack of physical activity is a leading cause of obesity, in addition to genetics, emotional instability and sleeplessness.

Key findings of the report show:

• Colorado has the lowest percentage of obese adults, 25.00 percent, which is 1.6 times lower than in West Virginia, the state with the highest at 40.70 percent.

• The District of Columbia has the lowest percentage of physically inactive adults, 16.20 percent, which is 1.9 times lower than in Mississippi, the state with the highest at 30.10 percent.

• Colorado has the lowest percentage of diabetic adults, 6.50 percent, which is 2.1 times lower than in Mississippi, the state with the highest at 13.70 percent.

• Colorado has the lowest percentage of adults with high blood pressure, 24.60 percent, which is 1.6 times lower than in Mississippi, the state with the highest at 40.20 percent.

David Matthau is a reporter for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at david.matthau@townsquaremedia.com

Click here to contact an editor about feedback or a correction for this story.

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