For the first time in more than a decade, Tennessee's percentage of overweight and obese residents has dropped for two consecutive years.
A researcher at Vanderbilt University compiled data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for 1997 through 2011.
It shows the percentage of overweight Tennesseans peaked at 69 percent in 2009 and dropped to 66.5 percent last year.
The percentage of obese Tennesseans peaked at just below 33 percent in 2009 and dropped to about 29 percent last year.
Rural areas lead the drop, moving from more than 70 percent overweight in 2009 to less than 65 percent last year.