Black Americans most obese group
Nearly 36 percent of black Americans are obese -- much more than other major racial or ethnic groups -- and that gap exists in most states, a new federal study finds. About 29 percent of Hispanics and 24 percent of whites are obese, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported. Racial differences in obesity rates...
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MIKE STOBBE, AP Medical Writer
ATLANTA (AP) — Nearly 36 percent of black Americans are obese — much more than other major racial or ethnic groups — and that gap exists in most states, a new federal study finds.
About 29 percent of Hispanics and 24 percent of whites are obese, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.
Racial differences in obesity rates have been reported before, and health officials were not surprised to see larger proportions of blacks tipping the scales.
But the new CDC report is the first to look at the gap on a state-by-state level, finding blacks had much higher obesity rates in 17 states, and had rates about as high or higher than other groups in another two dozen more states.
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