Thu., November 19, 2009 4:17pm (EST)
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Obesity Rates Highest In Central, South Ga.
By Orlando Montoya
Updated: 3 months ago

SAVANNAH, Ga. — A first-of-its-lind county-by-county look at national obesity rates finds a wide swath of Georgia with obesity rates exceeding 30%.

(photo Bill Branson National Cancer Institute)
The study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is the first to give county-level snapshots of obesity across the country.

It finds, the Southeast, Appalachia and tribal lands in the West have the nation's highest obesity rates.

In Georgia, huge sections of East, Central and Southwest Georgia have obesity rates exceeding 30%.

The mostly rural areas correspond with areas of high rates of diagnosed diabetes and high rates of poverty.

The state's worst obesity rate is Terrell County's 34.9% percent.

Metro Atlanta and the coast fare better. The lowest rate is Fulton County's 22.8% percent.

The study suggests focusing diabetes prevention efforts on areas that need them most.

To look up and compare your county's obesity rate to the rest of Georgia and the nation, click this link:

http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/ddtstrs/

To see how obesity relates to poverty, click this link:

http://www.poverty.uga.edu/maps/


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