The South tips the scales again as the nation's fattest region, according to a new government survey.

More than 30 percent of adults in Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee are considered obese. In part, experts blame Southern eating habits, poverty and demographic groups that have higher obesity rates.

Colorado was the least obese, with about 19 percent fitting that category in a random telephone survey done last year by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The 2007 findings are similar to results from the same survey the three previous years. Mississippi has had the highest obesity rate every year since 2004. But Alabama, Tennessee, West Virginia and Louisiana have also clustered near the top of the list.

The South has had high death rates from heart disease and stroke, health risks that have been linked to obesity, some experts noted.

The CDC study only surveyed adults, but results for kids are similar, said Dr. Miriam Vos, assistant professor of pediatrics at Atlanta's Emory School of Medicine.

"Most of the studies of obesity and children show the South has the highest rates as well," Vos said.

Why is the South so heavy? The traditional Southern diet — high in fat and fried food — may be part of the answer, said Dr. William Dietz, who heads CDC's nutrition, physical activity and obesity division.

The South also has a large concentration of rural residents and black women — two groups that tend to have higher obesity rates, he said.

The study found that about 36 percent of black survey participants were obese, while 28.5 percent of Hispanics and 24.5 percent of whites were.

High poverty rates in the South probably are another factor, said Naa Oyo Kwate, assistant professor of sociomedical sciences at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health.

In today's America, poor people tend to be obese: The cheapest foods tend to be calorie-heavy, and stores offering healthier, and more expensive, food choices are not often found in poor neighborhoods, she said.

And why is Colorado so thin? It's a state with a reputation for exercise.

   美國政府的一項最新調查顯示，美國南部再次成為全國最肥胖的地區。

調查顯示，在密西西比、阿拉巴馬和田納西州，超過30%的成年人存在肥胖問題。有關專家認為南部地區的高肥胖率與其飲食習慣、貧窮及人口特點有關。

科羅拉多州的肥胖率最低，約為19%。這些調查結果來自美國疾病控制與預防中心去年進行的隨機電話調查。

去年的調查結果與前三年差不多。從2004年起，密西西比州的肥胖率連年居全國之首。而如今阿拉巴馬、田納西、西弗吉尼亞和路易斯安那州也“迎頭趕上”，緊隨其后。

一些專家指出，南部地區心臟病和中風等由肥胖引起的疾病死亡率很高。

亞特蘭大埃默里醫學院的兒科學副教授米里安姆•沃斯說，盡管美國疾病防控中心的這項調查僅針對成年人，但兒童的情況也差不多。

沃斯說：“有關兒童和肥胖問題的多數調查表明，南部地區的兒童肥胖率也居全國之首。”

為什么南部地區的肥胖問題如此嚴重？疾病防控中心營養、鍛煉和肥胖部門的負責人威廉姆•迪亞茲博士說，南方的傳統飲食是導致這一問題的原因之一，南方的飲食脂肪含量高，而且多油炸食品。

此外，南方地區以農村人口為主，而且黑人女性較多，這兩大人群的肥胖率往往較高。

調查發現，36%的黑人受訪者存在肥胖問題，這一比例在西班牙人和白人中分別為28.5%和24.5%。

哥倫比亞大學郵差公共健康學院社會醫學副教授納爾•奧尤 •科維特說，南方的貧困率較高可能也是導致肥胖的一大因素。

她說，在如今的美國，窮人更容易發胖。廉價的食物通常所含熱量較高，而窮人往往買不起商店里那些健康、較貴的食品。

為什么科羅拉多州的人很苗條呢？那是因為這里的人們酷愛體育鍛煉。