by Liz Bonis & Megan Burgasser, WKRC | Click here to read the full article.

CINCINNATI (WKRC) – Nearly one in four people in the Tri-State are struggling to lose weight, according to a new report.

A new report from the free fitness app Flex AI included data analyzed from America’s health rankings. It looked at the percentage of adults with a high body weight for height and found some dangerous trends in the Tri-State.

Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana all rank in the top ten. Ohio was seventh with 38.1 percent of adults reporting high body mass index. Indiana and Kentucky tied at ninth with 37.7 percent.

Physical therapists at OrthoCincy said one reason for people to lose weight is to take pressure off their knees. They see a lot of knee injuries during this time of year.

“In the summer, people tend to get more active, so you may get outside more. You may see the surfaces that you are walking on, maybe adding in some more hills or walking on uneven ground. So, we will see some knee strains and sprains, as well as just some flare-ups of arthritis,” said Emily Rolf, an OrthoCincy physical therapist.

Physical therapists can help people design programs to strengthen their knees. The good news is for every one pound lost, that’s four pounds of pressure off the knees.

Walking is a great way to improve a person’s health and drop weight.

A report in “Prevention” shows the more a person weighs, the more calories a person burns. For example, a 150 lb. person will burn about 100 calories a mile at about 2.5 miles per hour. A 120 lb. person will burn about 85 calories at the same pace.

However, protecting the knees while walking is a consideration.

“So, obviously starting off slow, you know. Don’t go out and walk a 5K if you haven’t walked all winter long and kind of working your way into those kind of things. Making sure you are doing some stretches, strengthening some of your key muscles – your quads, your glutes. Making sure you are doing some of your basic exercises beforehand can help as well,” Rolf said.