Greater Cincinnati
Community Health Status Survey

Rates of overweight, obesity
rising in Greater Cincinnati
According to the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC),
obesity is a major risk factor for
certain types of cancer and preventable
diseases such as cardiovascular disease
and type 2 diabetes. Besides the
negative health outcomes, being obese
is costly to the public health system,
especially Medicare and Medicaid.
According to projections, Indiana,
Kentucky and Ohio spent more than
$12 billion on health costs related to
obesity in 2013.1

Rate of obesity (BMI ≥ 30) in Greater Cincinnati and the nation

Weight ranges for being overweight
and obese are calculated using the
Body Mass Index (BMI)2. Based on
BMI, a person who is 5 feet 4 inches
tall would be considered overweight
at 150 pounds and obese at 180
pounds. Similarly, a person who
is 6 feet tall would be considered
overweight at 190 pounds and
obese at 220 pounds. By 2020, if
Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio each
reduce their average BMI by 5% then

10%

United Health Foundation, American Public Health
Association, and Partnership for Prevention. The Future
Costs of Obesity: National and State Estimates of the
Impact of Obesity on Direct Health Care Expenses.
November 2009. Available at: www.nccor.org/downloads/CostofObesityReport-FINAL.pdf.
1

BMI is calculated by dividing a person’s weight
in pounds by their height in inches squared, and
then multiplying that result by 703. The CHSS asked
for height and weight during the survey, and BMI
was calculated for each respondent. Overweight is
defined as a BMI of 25-29.9. Obesity is defined as a
BMI of 30 or greater.
2

May 2014

50%
45%
40%
35%

Healthy People 2020 goal: less than 30.5%

30%
25%

27%
22%

28% 28% 28%

22%

33% Greater

Cincinnati

Nation*

24%

20%
15%

31%

20%

22%

5%
0%

1999

2002

2010 2011 2012 2013

2005

* National data are from the CDC’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS).
BRFSS has changed the way its data are weighted. Data 2011-present should not
be directly compared to data before 2011. National data were available only up to 2012.

about 875,000 fewer people would
have diseases such as diabetes, heart
disease, stroke and hypertension.3

Greater Cincinnati
more obese than nation
Similar to the national trend, local
overweight and obesity rates have
climbed in the last 15 years. More
Trust for America’s Health and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens
America’s Future 2012. September 2012. Available
at: http://healthyamericans.org/assets/files/TFAH2012FasInFatFnlRv.pdf.

than 6 in 10 adults (65%) in the
Greater Cincinnati region are
overweight or obese, compared
with 6 in 10 adults (63%) in the
nation.4 Though the overall rates are
comparable, the obesity rate is higher
in Greater Cincinnati. In 2002, the
obesity rate in the region was similar
to the nation (2 in 10 adults). The
Continued on back

3

National data are from the 1999, 2002, 2005, 2010,
2011 and 2012 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance
System, available at www.cdc.gov/brfss/.
4

The Greater Cincinnati Community Health Status Survey (CHSS) is a project of Interact for Health. The CHSS is conducted by the Institute for Policy Research at the University of Cincinnati. A total of 4,929 randomly selected adults residing in 8 Ohio counties, 9 Kentucky counties, and 5 Indiana counties were interviewed by telephone
between Aug. 20, 2013, and Jan. 19, 2014. This included 4,324 landline interviews and 605 cell phone interviews. The potential sampling error for the survey is ±1.5%. For
more information, including other topics and the list of community partners, please visit our web site at www.interactforhealth.org/greater-cincinnati-community-healthstatus-survey. For the complete survey dataset, visit www.oasisdataarchive.org. If you have further questions, email Jennifer Chubinski at jchubinski@interactforhealth.org.

 rate has increased since then. More
than 3 in 10 adults (33%) in Greater
Cincinnati were obese in 2013.
Nationally, fewer than 3 in 10 adults
(28%) were obese in 2012. The
national rate is within the Healthy
People 2020 goal of 30.5%, but the
regional percentage exceeds that
goal.

Obesity associated
with poor health

Overweight and obesity in Greater Cincinnati
By health status
Excellent/
very good

Poor

By race

In Greater Cincinnati, nearly 8 in 10
adults (76%) with poor health are
overweight or obese, while 6 in 10
adults (56%) with excellent or very
good health are overweight or obese.
A person with poor health is more
likely to be obese than overweight.
Out of every 10 adults with poor
health in our region, five are obese
and three are overweight. But among
10 adults with excellent or very good
health, only two are obese and four
are overweight. Because obesity is a
major risk factor for various diseases,
this illustrates its crucial role in
influencing overall health.

By income

Race influences obesity

By age

Obesity is not evenly distributed
across all groups in Greater
Cincinnati. African Americans have
higher overweight and obesity rates
than Whites. Almost 8 in 10 African
Americans (76%) are overweight or
obese, compared with 6 in 10 Whites
(64%). Unlike other races, African
Americans are also more likely to be
obese than overweight. Out of every
10 African American adults in our
region, four are obese and three are
overweight. Among every 10 White
people, only three are obese and three
are overweight.

Obesity rates differ
based on income, age
Adults living below 200% of the
Federal Poverty Level (FPL)5 are
more obese (38%) than adults living
above 200% FPL (31%). With respect
5

In 2013, 200% FPL was $47,100 for a family of four.

African
American
Key
White

Below
200% FPL

Above
200% FPL

18-29

30-64

65 and
older

to age, younger adults between the
ages of 18 and 29 are less obese (19%)
than adults older than 65 (30%), while
adults between the ages of 30 and 646
are most obese (39%).
38% of adults between the ages of 30 and 45 are
obese, while 39.4% of adults between the ages of 46
and 64 are obese
6

Obese

Overweight

Not
obese or
overweight