Obesity rate in Florida may be larger than previously thought, study finds

The obesity rate in Florida was found to be 37.1 percent in a recent study by researchers from UF Health, the Obesity Action Coalition in Tampa and Florida Hospital in Orlando.

That’s more than a 10 percent increase from a previous study’s findings.

“(The study) is a really neat collaboration between a lot of people from different backgrounds all with an interest in obesity,” said Stephanie Filipp, the lead author and data management analyst at the UF Health Outcomes Biomedical Informatics at the College of Medicine.

Filipp said the study analyzed the repository OneFlorida Data Trust to look at the heights and weights of 1.3 million people between the ages of 20 and 79.

Researchers calculated subjects’ body mass index (BMI) at two medical appointments. BMIs of 30 or greater were considered obese.

The researchers compared their results with the 2013 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), which is a telephone survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“(OneFlorida is) really just a different perspective, and we wanted to see whether or not OneFlorida versus BRFSS rates were similar or different,” Filipp said.

Filipp said one of the main reasons for the difference in results is due to the fact people tend to report being taller and slimmer than they actually are.

Florida Hospital radiation therapist Eileen Niemeyer was not surprised about the results of the OneFlorida study.

“I see an average of 30 patients a day, and 65 percent of them are obese,” Niemeyer said. “(Obesity causes) a reduced quality of life and high risk of death.”

Niemeyer said the best ways to tackle the high rate of obesity are through diet, exercise and regular checkups at the doctor.

Follow Dana Cassidy on Twitter @danacassidy_ and contact her at dcassidy@alligator.org.