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Most Overweight States 2024
Being overweight and obese has been a serious health concern in the United States in recent years. The percentage of obese adults has risen from 30.5 percent to 41.9 percent from 2000 to 2020. This has led to an increase in heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and stroke as these are conditions related to obesity.
There are slight differences between states and between demographic groups within states regarding the percentage of obese Americans. The CDC’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System uses self-reported data to track adult obesity prevalence. Data is included in the results as long as sufficient sample size was surveyed. The only state that had no data provided in any category in the 2021 study was Florida.
The 2021 survey showed that young adults aged 18-24 report the lowest percentage of obesity at 20.7%. This compares to adults 45-54 years old, who reported the highest percentage of 39.3%
There are also geographic trends when looking at percentages of obese people. Southern states had a 36.3% prevalence of obesity, while the West had a percentage of 28.7% The Midwest (35.4%) and Northeast (29.9%) were in the middle.
State | Overweight % |
|---|---|
| West Virginia | 40.6% |
| Kentucky | 40.3% |
| Alabama | 39.9% |
| Oklahoma | 39.4% |
| Mississippi | 39.1% |
| Arkansas | 38.7% |
| Louisiana | 38.6% |
| South Dakota | 38.4% |
| Ohio | 37.8% |
| Missouri | 37.3% |
Overall Obesity Prevalence in the U.S.
The 2021 CDC BRFSS study had a sample size of 385,204 adults over the age of 18 self-reporting their obesity status. Of this group, 33.0% of respondents indicated that they were obese.
The District of Columbia had the lowest prevalence of obesity with 24.7% of respondents. Eight states also had obesity prevalence below thirty percent: Hawaii (25.0%), Colorado (25.1%), Massachusetts (27.4%), California (27.6%), New Jersey (28.2%), Washington (28.8%), Vermont (29.0%), and New York (29.1%).
Most states had an obesity prevalence of thirty to forty percent. Only two states had a higher than forty percent prevalence of obesity in the overall adult population. Kentucky’s obesity prevalence was 40.3% and West Virginia’s was 40.6%.
Obesity Prevalence By Race and Ethnicity
The CDC also looked at the prevalence of obesity among different racial and ethnic groups. In all states and territories where sufficient data was available, Asian Americans had the lowest prevalence of obesity. Although there were twelve states without data, the average obesity prevalence in this group was 13.7%. This is nearly twenty percent lower than the obesity rate of adult Americans overall.
White adults had a prevalence much closer to the U.S. average. Although the District of Columbia was an outlier with 11.4% reporting to be obese, the majority of states had a prevalence of thirty to forty percent. Hispanic adults followed a similar pattern, with just seven states and the District of Columbia having obesity prevalence rates outside of this range.
The group with some of the highest percentages were Native American or Alaskan Native adults. This was the only ethnic group with multiple states reporting an obesity prevalence above fifty percent. Arizona (50.5%) and Pennsylvania (53.6%) were two of these states. North Dakota had the highest obesity prevalence at 54.0%. This was also the highest percentage of any racial or ethnic group in any state.
For most states, the highest percentage of obesity prevalence was in Black adults. Five states had under thirty percent of the population report that they were obese. Twenty-seven states had an obesity prevalence of over forty percent. This makes sense when looking at the medical disparities and “food deserts” that are often found in communities with high populations of Black Americans.
These percentages are important to know as they can help public health and medical professionals address the needs of those most affected by obesity. Knowing which ages, races, and ethnicities within their state most need to be targeted for education, resources, and assistance will help to make it easier to lower the rate of obesity nationwide.
State | Overweight % | Asian Adults | Black Adults | Hispanic Adults | Native Adults | White Adults |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Virginia | 40.6% | 0.0% | 45.4% | 42.9% | 38.7% | 39.7% |
| Kentucky | 40.3% | 0.0% | 44.7% | 35.6% | 30.0% | 37.6% |
| Alabama | 39.9% | 0.0% | 48.1% | 37.9% | 39.6% | 35.2% |
| Oklahoma | 39.4% | 18.1% | 43.9% | 38.6% | 43.9% | 36.3% |
| Mississippi | 39.1% | 26.9% | 47.1% | 40.0% | 31.1% | 35.7% |
| Arkansas | 38.7% | 0.0% | 47.0% | 33.7% | 30.3% | 36.7% |
| Louisiana | 38.6% | 18.6% | 44.9% | 33.9% | 41.2% | 34.6% |
| South Dakota | 38.4% | 0.0% | 34.0% | 45.2% | 46.4% | 33.5% |
| Ohio | 37.8% | 12.0% | 42.7% | 37.1% | 36.9% | 35.4% |
| Missouri | 37.3% | 12.0% | 41.8% | 37.2% | 26.0% | 34.8% |
| Iowa | 36.4% | 10.6% | 44.0% | 36.0% | 30.0% | 35.9% |
| Indiana | 36.3% | 6.9% | 42.1% | 41.0% | 38.4% | 35.7% |
| South Carolina | 36.1% | 20.6% | 45.2% | 31.1% | 43.0% | 32.7% |
| Texas | 36.1% | 13.2% | 40.5% | 41.0% | 26.3% | 31.6% |
| Kansas | 36.0% | 9.9% | 42.4% | 39.0% | 43.1% | 35.1% |
| North Carolina | 36.0% | 18.8% | 48.8% | 31.7% | 37.5% | 31.0% |
| Nebraska | 35.9% | 11.9% | 39.9% | 36.6% | 45.8% | 34.5% |
| North Dakota | 35.2% | 23.4% | 25.2% | 36.8% | 54.0% | 33.9% |
| Tennessee | 35.0% | 0.0% | 45.8% | 34.9% | 29.7% | 34.0% |
| New Mexico | 34.6% | 16.5% | 39.5% | 35.9% | 46.7% | 25.5% |
| Michigan | 34.4% | 9.2% | 42.5% | 43.2% | 33.6% | 34.5% |
| Maryland | 34.3% | 12.9% | 41.7% | 32.8% | 31.9% | 29.7% |
| Illinois | 34.2% | 12.3% | 39.5% | 38.3% | 30.6% | 31.9% |
| Virginia | 34.2% | 12.4% | 44.8% | 31.9% | 28.1% | 31.6% |
| Delaware | 33.9% | 15.1% | 42.6% | 36.3% | 49.3% | 33.1% |
| Georgia | 33.9% | 12.6% | 41.2% | 36.1% | 35.2% | 31.0% |
| Wisconsin | 33.9% | 15.9% | 51.8% | 35.8% | 43.8% | 32.5% |
| Alaska | 33.5% | 22.9% | 43.7% | 37.7% | 37.5% | 29.7% |
| Pennsylvania | 33.3% | 8.4% | 42.8% | 32.7% | 53.6% | 32.2% |
| Minnesota | 32.4% | 19.5% | 35.1% | 34.2% | 47.2% | 31.1% |
| Wyoming | 32.0% | 0.0% | 29.3% | 34.0% | 35.5% | 30.5% |
| Maine | 31.9% | 0.0% | 29.2% | 31.4% | 29.8% | 31.7% |
| Montana | 31.8% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 35.1% | 42.5% | 28.6% |
| Idaho | 31.6% | 0.0% | 44.5% | 34.5% | 41.1% | 30.2% |
| Arizona | 31.3% | 14.4% | 38.9% | 36.5% | 50.5% | 27.9% |
| Nevada | 31.3% | 13.9% | 33.8% | 34.0% | 49.4% | 30.0% |
| Utah | 30.9% | 10.3% | 28.9% | 34.6% | 41.5% | 29.0% |
| New Hampshire | 30.6% | 11.6% | 30.1% | 32.8% | 33.3% | 31.0% |
| Connecticut | 30.4% | 12.5% | 42.9% | 35.5% | 40.6% | 27.5% |
| Oregon | 30.4% | 16.6% | 29.8% | 36.1% | 36.6% | 28.6% |
| Rhode Island | 30.1% | 9.5% | 37.8% | 35.7% | 38.5% | 29.1% |
| New York | 29.1% | 11.6% | 36.1% | 31.0% | 25.9% | 26.9% |
| Vermont | 29.0% | 0.0% | 38.4% | 22.9% | 32.9% | 27.5% |
| Washington | 28.8% | 9.9% | 35.4% | 34.4% | 42.5% | 29.3% |
| New Jersey | 28.2% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| California | 27.6% | 10.0% | 40.6% | 37.0% | 31.1% | 25.6% |
| Massachusetts | 27.4% | 11.2% | 33.9% | 32.5% | 22.0% | 25.4% |
| Colorado | 25.1% | 6.9% | 30.9% | 31.4% | 31.3% | 22.6% |
| Hawaii | 25.0% | 16.1% | 30.2% | 32.0% | 0.0% | 20.2% |
| District of Columbia | 24.7% | 6.9% | 0.0% | 26.3% | 0.0% | 11.4% |
| United States | 33.0% | 11.0% | 39.3% | 34.9% | 33.6% | 29.8% |