Insurance Quotes, U.S. Obesity Rate Continues to Rise: A new study shows America’s waistline is expanding faster than ever.  Research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that 26.7 percent of adults in the U.S. are now obese, a 1.1 percent increase from 2007.

In 2000, no states reported obesity rates over 30 percent. Today, nine states exceed that mark.  Mississippi is the heaviest state in the U.S. with an obesity rate of 34 percent. Obesity rates are generally highest in the South and Midwest.  Only Colorado and the District of Columbia have obesity rates below 20 percent.

Some other findings from the study include:

• African Americans report obesity rates of 36.8 percent
• African American women have the highest obesity rates of any group at 41.9 percent
• Hispanics have an obesity rate of 30.7 percent
• 32.9 percent of Americans without a high school education are obese

The numbers used in the report come from self-reported health data collected via telephone interviews by state health departments.

Officials from the CDC warn that actual obesity rates may be higher than the research shows. Researchers note that both men and women have a tendency to overestimate their height, and women frequently underestimate their weight.