Obesity rates among West Virginia children in low-income families have increased by 2 percent from 2010 to 2014.
West Virginia’s obesity rate among young children from low-income families increased from 14.4 percent in 2010 to 16.4 percent in 2014, according to the national Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
The study was published Thursday in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Obesity rates, however, significantly decreased in 31 states and three territories. Those rates however, did increase significantly in Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio and West Virginia among 2 to 4 year-olds enrolled in WIC, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children.
West Virginia’s obesity rate is ninth highest in the nation.
Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, with support from the Benedum Foundation.