Oklahomans Weigh In: The State's Obesity Numbers Keep Going Up

The Sooner state keeps growing, but not in a good way.

We're talking about a recent report that showed Oklahoma with the highest increase in obesity of any state. In 1995, Oklahoma's obesity rate was 12.9 percent. The most recent report puts it at a whopping 31.4 percent.

Whoo-hoo! We're number One! (We "beat" Alabama.)

As the Tulsa World reported, the state is second in the nation in the increase in diabetes and third in the country in levels of inactivity. (Thank the Lord for Mississippi and West Virginia.)

But, hey, we're on a roll!

There's also this: Oklahoma is dead last in fruit and vegetable consumption, edging out those wimpy vegetarians from Mississippi.

These rankings come from the a study conducted by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Trust for America's Health. The title of the study says a lot: "F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America's Future."

Jeff Levi of the Trust for America's Health told the World, "If we're going to reverse the obesity rates, will power alone won't do it."

Exercise helps, of course, but the newspaper also noted that Oklahoma's cities "are built around cars and aren't very walkable."