MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG) — Alabama ranks No. 7 in obesity and overweight states in the U.S., according to a new WalletHub report.

WalletHub studied the 50 states and the District of Columbia in three areas: obesity and overweight prevalence, health consequences and food-and-fitness.

“We evaluated those dimensions using 31 relevant metrics … each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the most overweight state,” the organization said in a news release.

“For metrics marked with an asterisk (*), we calculated the population size using the square root of the population in order to avoid overcompensating for minor differences across states.

“Finally, we determined each state and the District’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score and used the resulting scores to rank-order the states.”

Alabama ranked ninth overall in prevalence, 11th in health consequences and third in food & fitness, according to WalletHub.

Mississippi ranks second on the list with a total score of 71.97.

“One reason why Missipians are on the heavier side is the fact that close to half of adults in the state eat fruit less than once a day, and nearly a quarter of them do the same for veggies,” WalletHub said. “The state does try to encourage its children to stay fit, though. In fact, it’s one of the highest ranked states when it comes to covering physical education topics in school and providing students with adequate opportunities for physical activity.

Seven in 10 adults over age 20 are either overweight or obese, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The report also said obesity costs the healthcare system $173 billion per year.

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