New York's Declining Obesity Rate Bucks National Trend

A new report from federal health officials has found obesity is still on the rise across the country. But New York is bucking that trend.

Obesity rates edged downward across the state, from 25 percent in 2007, to 24.2 percent last year. Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention -- and New York City's former health commissioner -- says the city has done an even better job.

"New York City, Manhattan, has a much lower level of obesity than the other boroughs, and that is even after correcting for socioeconomic status," Frieden says. "There are various theories that might explain that. Public transportation is certainly one of them."

The national picture is not so pretty. The CDC says 26.7 percent of the population was obese in 2009, up from 25.6 percent in 2007.