Nearly 36 percent of black Americans are obese - much more than other major racial or ethnic groups - and that gap exists in most states, a new federal study finds.

    About 29 percent of Hispanics and 24 percent of whites are obese, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday. Overall, about 26 percent of U.S. adults are obese.

    Racial differences in obesity rates have been reported before, and health officials were not surprised to see larger proportions of blacks tipping the scales.

    But the new CDC report is the first to look at the gap state-by-state, finding blacks had significantly higher obesity rates in 21 states and somewhat higher rates in many others.

    Experts believe there are several reasons for the differences. People with lower incomes often have less access to medical care, exercise facilities and more expensive, healthier food. In many places, minorities are disproportionately poor.

    "Poverty is a very strong driver of obesity," said Kelly Brownell, director of Yale University's Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity.

    Attitudes about weight also are believed to be a factor, said Dr. Liping Pan, a CDC epidemiologist. Researchers cited a 2008 study that found black and Hispanic women had significantly lower odds of being dissatisfied with their body size than white women.

    "Black and Hispanics are more accepting of high weight," Pan said, adding that heavy people who are satisfied with their size are not likely to diet or exercise.

    However, it could be that over time as people struggle with poverty and environment "they come to accept the higher weights," Brownell said.

    Obesity is based on the body mass index, a calculation using height and weight. A 5-foot-7-inch adult who weighs 190 pounds would have a BMI of 30, which is considered the threshold for obesity.

    The data comes from a national telephone survey of more than 1 million Americans over the years 2006 through 2008.

    For blacks, the highest obesity rate was in Maine, where 45 percent were obese. Tennessee was the state where Hispanic obesity was most common. And West Virginia was the fattest state for whites.

    But generally, obesity was most common for both blacks and whites in the South and Midwest.

    The study also broke down the groups by gender, and found black women were the heaviest, with 39 percent counted as obese. Black men were next, at 32 percent, then Hispanic women, 29 percent, Hispanic men, 28 percent, white men, 25 percent and white women, 22 percent.

    一項最新的聯邦研究發現，近百分之三十六的美國黑人是肥胖者，這遠遠超過其他主要種族或民族群體，而且這種差別存在于大多數國家中。

    據疾病控制和預防中心周四報道，約百分之二十九的西班牙人和百分之二十四的白種人是肥胖者。總體而言，約百分之二十六的美國成年人是肥胖者。

    在肥胖率的種族差別被報道以前，衛生部門官員并沒有因為黑人在肥胖癥中占較大比例而感到驚訝。

    但是，新的疾病預防控制中心報告是第一次看到州與州之間的差別，在21個州發現了黑人的肥胖率極高，在其他州的比率也有點高。

    專家認為造成這種差別的原因有很多。收入較低的人往往很難獲得醫療保健，運動設施以及比較昂貴健康的食品。在很多地方，一部分人處于不同程度的貧窮狀態。

    貧窮對造成肥胖具有極大的推動作用。"耶魯大學食品政策與肥胖研究中心主任凱利布勞內爾認為。

    對體重的態度也被認為是其中的一個因素，DC的流行病學家潘力平博士表示。研究人員列舉了2008年的研究，發現黑人和西班牙裔婦女對她們身材的不滿意程度要比白人婦女低很多。

    "黑色和西班牙人更接受高體重， "潘說，對自己體重感到滿意的胖人也不大可能節制飲食或經常運動。

    然而，也許隨著時間的推移，人們不斷與貧窮和環境做斗爭，"他們也許會開始接受較高的體重， "布勞內爾說。

    肥胖是根據身體質量指數，用身高和體重計算出來的結果。 一個5英尺7英寸高體重一百九十磅的成年人體重指數為30 ,這個指數被當作是他肥胖的門檻。

    這個數據來自于一個全國性電話調查，從2006年到2008年調查了超過一百萬的美國人。

    黑人肥胖率最高的是緬因州，那里百分之四十五的人是肥胖者。在田納西州西班牙肥胖者是最常見的。西弗吉尼亞州是白人肥胖者最多的州。

    但通常，不管是黑人還是白人，肥胖者在南部和中西部最常見到。

    這項研究還根據性別進行了分組，發現黑人婦女是最重的，百分之三十九的人是肥胖者。接著是黑人男子，百分之三十二，然后是西班牙裔婦女，百分之二十九，西班牙裔男子，百分之二十八，白人男子，百分之二十五，白人婦女，百分之二十二。