Mississippi has second highest childhood obesity rates in the nation

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has released a new study that found Mississippi’s childhood obesity rate to be the second-highest in the nation. In 2016, Mississippi had the highest childhood obesity rate at 26.2 percent. And this new study found the state’s obesity rate dropped by nearly 4 points since then to 22.3 percent. Sandra Shelson is Executive Director of The Partnership for a Healthy Mississippi.

Shelson says “If you’re trying to find a ‘the glass is half full’ scenario, we do have that. But is there a lot of work to be done? Yes. Do we still have a long way to go? Yes.”

Pediatricians warn that childhood obesity can lead to serious health risks, such as type two diabetes.

Shelson says the primary factor behind the state’s childhood obesity rate is poverty, which can affect a family’s access to healthy foods and recreational activities.  She says addressing this issue could begin with incentives for farmers and grocery stores to cater more towards food deserts.

“Also, sometimes you need to deincentivise meaning if the healthier choice is the more affordable choice, and the unhealthier choice is the less affordable choice, people with limited means are going to gravitate towards the less expensive,” says Shelson.

Shelson says Mississippi continues to have the highest rate of obesity in high schools, and the second-highest for adults.