Are Winneshiek County residents getting slimmer?

Winneshiek County residents identify obesity as the number one health problem facing the community.

But the Community Health Needs Assessment and Improvement Plan created by Winneshiek Medical Center has discovered an interesting trend--the number of Winneshiek County residents whose weight makes them "obese" is showing a downward trend.

The figures on obesity in Winneshiek County are available only through 2009. That year 24.7 percent of people in Winneshiek County were "obese."  While that is a high figure, it is below the national and statewide averages.  More importantly, it is a decrease of 2.6 overall percentage points from 2006, when 28.3 percent of Winneshiek County residents were "obese."