Mississippi is still fat. That’s according to new government data that shows Mississippi adults are as obese as ever.

The state remained tied for the second fattest in the nation in 2015, with nearly 36 percent of adults reporting they were obese, according to The Associated Press.

Louisiana is the fattest, with an obesity rate above 36 percent. Colorado is the skinniest, with adult obesity rates just over 20 percent, AP reported.

That Mississippi remains fat isn’t a big surprise. In the Land of Fried Everything, a few extra pounds are to be expected. But is there something else going on that keeps us rotund?

There is some research that shows that poverty can contribute to obesity, which is somewhat counter-intuitive. At first glance most would assume poor people suffer from too few calories, not too many. But so-called “food deserts,” places where poor people don’t have access to fresh foods, seems to contribute to our waistline problems. If people can only afford junk food or fast food, then it stands to reason that they might be overweight.

But that alone doesn’t explain our obesity woes. There are other poor states that are not as fat as we are.

Obesity is a real problem. “Obesity increases the risk of chronic diseases including heart disease and stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes, certain cancers, osteoarthritis, and gall bladder disease and gall stones,” according to the Mississippi Dept. of Health. “Reports suggest over the next 20 years, Mississippi’s obesity could contribute to 415,353 new cases of type 2 diabetes, 814,504 new cases of coronary heart disease and stroke, 751,568 new cases of hypertension, 487,642 new cases of arthritis, and 111,069 new cases of obesity related cancer.”

The state has invested resources into fighting the obesity epidemic out of concern for its people, but also out of concern for its wallet. Obesity costs Mississippi as much as $925 million annually in healthcare costs. It’s estimated that the cost will be $3.9 billion in two years, according to health department.

Researchers also blame inactive lifestyles for our obesity. Apparently, Mississippians just don’t like to move much, especially when it’s hot. It’s hard to feel like exercising after stuffing yourself on fried foods when it’s 100 degrees outside. Napping on the couch is the only thing that’s appealing in those circumstances.

And while some might dismiss that observation as flippant, it’s true. All the facts and statistics in the world won’t matter to people who simply love to eat unhealthy foods and sit on the couch while the AC blows. Too many of us don’t have the motivation to get up and do something like walk or run.

But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t continue to educate people on the risks of living a sedentary lifestyle, we should just set realistic expectations.

So what else is making us fat besides poverty, food deserts and nap-inducing fried foods that lead to inactivity? The thing is there isn’t one single factor that you can point a finger at. It appears to be a combination of all of them, according to researchers.

And that’s what makes battling our obesity epidemic tough. If you told every obese person in Mississippi that they simply had to do one thing to be healthy, they might actually do it. But if you tell them that they must eat better, exercise more and stop being poor, they are likely to dismiss all of it as undoable. We are cursed here in Mississippi with a perfect storm of obesity factors and it may be several years before that changes.