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Fairfield County Has Second Lowest Obesity Rate in the US

The region had an obesity rate of about 14.5 percent, according to a 2011 Gallup poll, which surveyed ten metropolitan areas in the US. That's compared to a national average of 26.1 percent.

Fairfield County is the second “least obese” area in the US, according to a recent Gallup poll.

The region had an obesity rate of about 14.5 percent, according to the 2011 poll, which surveyed ten metropolitan areas in the US. That’s compared to a national average of 26.1 percent.

Boulder, Colo. reportedly had the lowest obesity rate, at 12.1 percent. At the other end of the scale, McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas came in as “most obese” with a rate of 38.8 percent.

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A general change in lifestyle — particularly the dramatic increase in the amount of “screen time” in people’s lives (i.e. using computers, laptops, tablets, smartphones and television) — is attributed as the main cause for the sharp rise in obesity in both and since 1990. Of the 30,000 adults surveyed for the 2011 poll, 62.1 percent were overweight or obese, according to the report.

In keeping with the saying “you can never be too rich or too thin,” the survey reveals that people making an annual income of $90,000 and above were least likely to be obese. Conversely, lower-income Americans, blacks and those aged 45-65, were most likely to be obese, the report states.

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Last month Gallup released a report that ranked Connecticut sixth among the 10 states with the lowest obesity rates. Respondents self-reported their height and weight, used to calculate the body mass index (BMI), in the survey. The report does not state what the margin of error is for the data.

In December the United Health Foundation behind Vermont and New Hampshire. The ranking was in part due to the state's low smoking and obesity rates.

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