Residents seem surprised, but the state has the third-lowest rate among adults in the country.

01:00 AM EDT on Wednesday, August 24, 2005

BY JENNIFER LEVITZ
Journal Staff Writer

Rhode Island is one of the nation's most densely populated states.

And now, a new national study reveals how it might be that we all can fit.

We're not as chunky as people elsewhere.

Rhode Island, it turns out, has the third-lowest rate of obesity among adults in the country, according to Trust for America's Health, a nonprofit advocacy group based in Washington, D.C.

When you add in people considered overweight, Rhode Island is seventh-best, said the study, which examined three years of data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Told the news yesterday, some doubtful locals looked as if they'd swallowed rotten calamari.

This is, after all, the state where one of the treasured delicacies is the deep-fried doughboy.

No national study can erase Lily Hall's view from behind the counter of the Original Ricotti's sandwich shop on Federal Hill, where a big seller is the steak and cheese.

"Oh, I don't think so," said Hall, 34. "We're chubbies. Not to be mean, but I think a lot of us are chubbies."

Working at a Del's Lemonade in Providence, Spencer Stolle, 16, said: "I'm surprised. I thought everyone in Warwick was fat."

Colorado had the lowest percentage of obese adults, followed by Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont and Montana.

The Southeast didn't fare as well. The highest percentages of obese adults are in Mississippi, Alabama, West Virginia, Louisiana and Tennessee, the report said.

Despite the rankings, the report concluded that no state is doing great. Obesity rates rose in every state except Oregon last year. The advocacy group called for states to do more, such as providing more recreational spaces, allowing Medicaid recipients to get access to subsidized fitness programs, and improving nutrition in schools. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has set a national goal of reducing obesity in each state to 15 percent or less of adults by the year 2010.

But the report found that adult obesity levels are 16 percent or more in every state. In 10 states, 7 of which are in the Southeast, more than 25 percent of adults are obese.

In Rhode Island, 18.6 percent of adults are obese. But more than half of the state's residents, 55 percent, could be considered overweight, according to the report, which uses an equation that measures height and weight.

The math means that roughly one in five Rhode Island residents is obese.

"I don't know if we want to be proud," said Dr. David R. Gifford, director of the state Health Department. "The number should be a lot lower."

The study was financed by grants from the Dr. Robert C. Atkins Foundation, the Bauman Foundation, and the Benjamin Spencer Fund.

Rhode Island is used to being ranked. Most Catholic. Smallest. A few months ago, a nationwide survey by GMAC Insurance all but called Rhode Island drivers dumb, saying they're the worst in the nation in knowing the rules of the road.

Studies have looked at food habits. Last year, one survey by a New York marketing firm found that Providence has more doughnut shops per capita than anywhere else.

Jason Sherman, 25, a clerk on Dunkin' Donuts on Federal Hill, found it hard to digest that a state with that many doughnuts didn't have a weight problem.

"Na-ah! Are you serious?" he said.

And at Union Station restaurant, coworkers from New England Gas caused a ruckus. "No! You've got to be kidding!" said Diane Geaber, 52.

"I can't believe it! And look at what we're eating!" said Jean Whatmough, 50, pointing to three helpings of calzones and French fries. She loves food.

"Call me a lot of things, but not late for dinner," she said.

But Rhode Islanders burn it off, she said. In fact, lots of people were running at lunch yesterday. Whatmough runs 15 or 20 miles per week.

But as the study shows, everything is relative. "I used to live in Philly," said Milen Lalov, 20, a student at Johnson & Wales.

Enough said. In 2001, motivated by a Men's Fitness article that called Philadelphia the fattest city in the nation, the mayor called for the entire city to go on a diet.

Associated Press material was used in this story.

Are you wondering if you're considered overweight or obese? The National Institutes of Health determines healthy weights by measuring the Body Mass Index, an estimate of how much you should weigh, based on your height.

People who have a body mass index of 30 or more are considered obese. Those with an index of 25 to 29 are overweight, though there are exceptions.

To calculate your BMI:

Multiply your weight in pounds by 703.

Divide that answer by your height in inches.

Divide that answer by your height in inches again.

For example, a person who weighs 270 pounds and is 68 inches tall has a BMI of 41.

The BMI is not always accurate. People who are unusually muscular may have a high BMI. In the elderly it is better to have a BMI between 25 and 27, rather than under 25.

From the National Institutes of Health

Digital Extra: Weigh in on Rhode Island's ranking in the national obesity study at:

http://projo.com/obesitysurvey