Top 5: South Carolina's Weight Problem

Recently, the Trust for America's Health and The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation released its annual rankings of obesity. South Carolina came in as the No. 8 fattest state in the county. As usual, we can thank Mississippi and Alabama for holding the top spots, respectively.

But here are five facts about South Carolina as well as national obesity that might surprise you.

1. The obesity rate in South Carolina increased more than 80 percent over the last 15 years. South Carolina's adult obesity rate is 30.9 percent.

2. Ten years ago, no state had an obesity rate above 24 percent, and now 43 states have higher obesity rates than the state that was the highest in 2000.

3. In 1995, South Carolina had a diabetes rate of 6 percent. Now the diabetes rate is 10.4 percent.

4. Fifteen years ago, South Carolina had a hypertension rate of 24.4 percent. Now, the rate is 31.5 percent.

5. Nearly 33 percent of adults who did not graduate high school are obese compared with 21.5 percent of adults who graduated from college or a technical college.

Top 5 is a weekly look at how Mount Pleasant ranks compared to other cities across the country.