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I. Overview II. US State Obesity Levels and Rankings, 2018 & 1990 III. US Obesity Maps Gallery

I. Overview

Obesity is usually determined by BMI (body mass index) measurements. Someone with a BMI of 30 or more is considered obese.

From 1990 to 2018, the average percentage of obese adults increased from 11.1% (for the 44 states and DC for which 1990 data are available) to 31.3%. According to the “State of Obesity” report by the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, as of 2018, nine states have obesity rates of 35% or higher; 22 states have obesity rates between 30% and 34.9%; 17 states have obesity rates between 25.0% and 29.9%; and two states and DC have obesity rates between 20% and 24.9%.

“The State of Obesity,” the source for the data below, used reports from the Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) “Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System” (BRFSS) annual survey. The data for 1990 are incomplete because not all states participated in the survey that year.

II. US State Obesity Levels and Rankings, 2018 & 1990

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Rank % of Population That Was Obese in 2018 STATE % Change from 1990 to 2018 % of Population That Was Obese in 1990 1990

Rank 39.6%* Average 182.0% 11.1%

(44 states & DC) 1 39.5% Mississippi 163.3% 15.0% 1 1 39.5% West Virginia 188.3% 13.7% 4 3 37.1% Arkansas n/a n/a n/a 4 36.8% Louisiana 199.2% 12.3% 10 5 36.6% Kentucky 188.2% 12.7% 9 6 36.2% Alabama 223.2% 11.2% 21 7 35.3% Iowa 189.3% 12.2% 11 8 35.1% North Dakota 202.6% 11.6% 15 9 35.0% Missouri 209.7% 11.3% 17 10 34.8% Oklahoma 237.9% 10.3% 31 10 34.8% Texas 225.2% 10.7% 26 12 34.4% Kansas n/a n/a n/a 12 34.4% Tennessee 209.9% 11.1% 23 14 34.3% South Carolina 185.8% 12.0% 13 15 34.1% Indiana 156.4% 13.3% 6 15 34.1% Nebraska 201.8% 11.3% 17 17 34.0% Ohio 200.9% 11.3% 17 18 33.5% Delaware 132.6% 14.4% 2 19 33.0% Mighigan 150.0% 13.2% 8 19 33.0% North Carolina 148.1% 13.3% 6 21 32.5% Georgia 221.8% 10.1% 33 22 32.3% New Mexico 298.8% 8.1% 44 23 32.0% Wisconsin 171.2% 11.8% 14 24 31.8% Illinois 162.8% 12.1% 12 25 30.9% Maryland 186.1% 10.8% 25 25 30.9% Pennsylvania 125.5% 13.7% 4 27 30.7% Florida 169.3% 11.4% 16 28 30.4% Maine 178.9% 10.9% 24 28 30.4% Virginia 169.0% 11.3% 17 30 30.1% Minnesota 192.2% 10.3% 31 30 30.1% South Dakota 181.3% 10.7% 26 32 29.9% Oregon 167.0% 11.2% 21 33 29.6% New Hampshire 199.0% 9.9% 37 34 29.5% Alaska n/a n/a n/a 34 29.5% Arizona 178.3% 10.6% 29 34 29.5% Nevada n/a n/a n/a 37 29.0% Wyoming n/a n/a n/a 38 28.7% Washington 184.2% 10.1% 33 39 28.4% Idaho 205.4% 9.3% 3 40 27.8% Utah 208.9% 9.0% 41 41 27.7% Rhode Island 174.3% 10.1% 33 42 27.6% New York 196.8% 9.3% 39 43 27.5% Vermont 157.0% 10.7% 26 44 27.4% Connecticut 163.5% 10.4% 30 45 26.9% Montana 220.2% 8.4% 43 46 25.8% California 160.6% 9.9% 37 47 25.7% Massachusetts 154.5% 10.1% 33 47 25.7% New Jersey n/a n/a n/a 49 24.9% Hawaii 179.8% 8.9% 42 50 24.7% DC 71.5% 14.4% 2 51 23.0% Colorado 233.3% 6.9% 45

*The national obesity rates are higher than the state-by-state rates. According to the Sep. 2019 “The State of Obesity: Better Policies for a Healthier America” report, the obesity rates from each state as reported by the “Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System” (BRFSS) are calculated with self-reported height and weight from each respondent. Because people tend to overestimate their own height and underestimate their own weight, the BRFSS may underestimate obesity rates by nearly 10 percent. Because of that discrepancy, the State of Obesity report used a national estimate from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), which bases the national obesity rate on physical examinations of respondents rather than self-reported height and weight.

III. US Obesity Maps Gallery

(click each map to enlarge)

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IV. Source

State of Obesity, “Obesity Rates: Adults,” stateofchildhoodobesity.org, Sep. 2019

Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, “The State of Obesity: Better Policies for a Healthier America,” stateofobesity.org, Sep. 2019