After years of increases, the rates of adult obesity remained level in every state last year - except in Arkansas, according to a report released Friday.

The report by the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood JohnsonFoundation found that 34.5 percent of Arkansas adults were considered obese in 2012, compared with 30.9 percent in 2011.

The state was the only one in 2012 that had a statistically significant increase in adult obesity, according to the report.

As a result of the increase,Arkansas moved up in the rankings of states with the highest obesity rates. It ranks No. 3, behind Louisiana, where 34.7 percent of adults were considered obese, and Mississippi, where 34.6 percent of adults were considered obese.

In 2011, Arkansas had the seventh-highest rate among the states.

The report is based on data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, which uses information from telephone surveys conducted by state health departments.

According to the CDC, Arkansas’ rate was based on responses from 4,943 people about their height and weight. The rate had a margin of error of plus or minus 1.9 percentage points.

A person’s height and weight are used to calculate a “body mass index” that determines whether a person is obese. According to the formula used to calculate the index, a 6-foot-tall person would be considered overweight if he weighed more than 184 pounds and obese if he weighed more than 221 pounds.

A 5-foot-tall person would be considered overweight if he weighed more than 128 pounds and obese if he weighed more than 153 pounds.

Colorado had the lowest adult obesity rate in 2012, with 20.5 percent of its adults considered obese. It was followed by Washington, D.C., where 21.9 percent of adults were considered obese, and Massachusetts, where 22.9 percent of adults were considered obese.

In addition to moving up in the adult obesity rate ranking, Arkansas ranked No. 1 in the number of adults who reported being physically inactive - defined as having not engaged in physical activity or exercise - outside of performing work duties - such as running, calisthenics, golf, gardening, or walking for exercise, during the previous 30 days.

In 2012, 31.5 percent of those surveyed in the state reported being physically inactive, compared to 30.9 percent in 2011.

West Virginia ranked No. 2 in that category in 2012, with 31 percent of adults reporting being physically inactive, and Mississippi ranked No. 3, with 30.8 percent of adults reporting being physically inactive.

In 2011, Arkansas ranked seventh in physical inactivity.

Noting that obesity rates increased in 16 states in 2011, the report cited the lack of growth in 2012 as a sign that efforts to promote healthy living are paying off.

However, it noted that the rates remain high compared with a few years ago and that no state had a statistically significant decrease in 2012.

Arkansas Health Department spokesman Cathy Flanagin cited television, video games, fast food and the marketing of sugary snacks as among the reasons for Arkansas’ obesity rate. Fewer people walk or ride bicycles than in the past, she said.

Also, she said, “there’s a lot of socialization in Arkansas around food activities,” such as pot-luck dinners.

To reverse the trend, the Arkansas Coalition for Obesity Prevention this year awarded $90,000 in grants to 37 communities for projects such as expanding farmers markets, establishing community gardens and providing schools with food from area farms. Money for the grants came from the Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield’s Blue and You Foundation for a Healthier Arkansas.

The coalition, established in 2007, includes several businesses, nonprofits and government agencies, including the Health Department, and the Blue and You Foundation.

The Health Department has also been helping cities conduct “walkability” assessments and businesses to establish health promotion programs for employees.

Albert Lang, a spokesman for the Trust for America’s Health, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that promotes disease prevention, said it’s difficult to say why Arkansas’ obesity rate increased in 2012. He noted that obesity rates tend to be higher in Southern and Midwestern states. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is a philanthropic foundation devoted to public health.

States can reduce obesity by making sure schools have healthy food, and that people have access to grocery stores and places to exercise, he said.

“Making sure the healthy choice is the easy one is the way to go,” he said.

Front Section, Pages 1 on 08/17/2013