Report: 50 Percent Of Minnesotans Could Be Obese By 2030

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A new report forecasts that obesity rates will dramatically increase in every state in the country over the next 20 years.

The report, called F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America's Future 2012 by Trust for America's Health, was released Tuesday. The annual report includes – for the first time – an analysis that forecasts obesity rates for each state by 2030.

For Minnesota, the report found that 54.7 percent of adults could be obese in the state by 2030. That's 29 percent more people than the 2011 figures of 25.7 percent, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Furthermore, the analysis shows that if obesity rates continue on their current trajectories, 13 states could have adult obesity rates above 60 percent, 39 states above 50 percent and all 50 states above 44 percent.

Obesity rates are not just unhealthy for citizens, however. It will also cost the economy.

According to the report, by 2030, medical costs associated with treating preventable obesity-related diseases are "estimated to increase to $66 billion per year" in the U.S. The loss to economic productivity could be as high as $580 billion annually.

The report also states that if obesity rates are reduced, specifically the average body mass index, by just 5 percent, it could help citizens avoid obesity-related diseases and save billions in health care costs.

For more on the report, click here.