States where obesity is on the rise

Written by:
August 3, 2018
Canva

States where obesity is on the rise

It's no secret that the United States struggles with an obesity epidemic. In 2017, America had the largest total number of obese adults in the world, with slightly more than a third of the adult population—73,872,022 individuals over the age of 18—having a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or greater. This is especially troubling when considering that China, the nation which ranks second (at 65,706,627 obese individuals) has more than four times as many adults as the United States.

A New Year's resolution many Americans make is to take charge of their health. Millions each year end their holiday seasons by cutting calories, hitting the gym and making other positive changes. For some, however, a handful of conditions have made it difficult to stop gaining weight, not least of which is the set of nutritional conditions within their environments.

Stacker looked at data from the National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network in order to rank the states where people are gaining the most weight, and assess which communities may be suffering from overly sedentary lifestyles and a lack of access to healthy food. The states are ranked according to their respective 10-year changes in obesity rates from 2006 to 2016, listed with their current obesity rate (percent of individuals with a BMI of 30+) as well as their current overweight rate (percent of individuals with a BMI of 25+).

Read on to see if obesity is getting worse in your home state.

RELATED: The laziest cities in America

#51. District of Columbia

Total 10-year change in obesity rate: +0.44%
Current obesity rate: 22.60%
Current overweight rate: 30.80%

#50. Nevada

Total 10-year change in obesity rate: +3.20%
Current obesity rate: 25.80%
Current overweight rate: 36.50%

#49. California

Total 10-year change in obesity rate: +7.30%
Current obesity rate: 25.00%
Current overweight rate: 36.00%

#48. South Carolina

Total 10-year change in obesity rate: +9.86%
Current obesity rate: 32.30%
Current overweight rate: 35.10%

#47. Ohio

Total 10-year change in obesity rate: +10.92%
Current obesity rate: 31.50%
Current overweight rate: 34.80%

#46. New York

Total 10-year change in obesity rate: +11.35%
Current obesity rate: 25.50%
Current overweight rate: 35.30%

#45. Minnesota

Total 10-year change in obesity rate: +12.55%
Current obesity rate: 27.80%
Current overweight rate: 37.00%

#44. Michigan

Total 10-year change in obesity rate: +12.85%
Current obesity rate: 32.50%
Current overweight rate: 35.00%

#43. Idaho

Total 10-year change in obesity rate: +13.69%
Current obesity rate: 27.40%
Current overweight rate: 37.10%

#42. Oklahoma

Total 10-year change in obesity rate: +13.89%
Current obesity rate: 32.80%
Current overweight rate: 36.00%

#41. Wisconsin

Total 10-year change in obesity rate: +15.41%
Current obesity rate: 30.70%
Current overweight rate: 35.50%

#40. Utah

Total 10-year change in obesity rate: +15.53%
Current obesity rate: 25.30%
Current overweight rate: 35.00%

#39. Hawaii

Total 10-year change in obesity rate: +15.53%
Current obesity rate: 23.80%
Current overweight rate: 33.80%

#38. Virginia

Total 10-year change in obesity rate: +15.54%
Current obesity rate: 29.00%
Current overweight rate: 36.50%

#37. Oregon

Total 10-year change in obesity rate: +15.73%
Current obesity rate: 28.70%
Current overweight rate: 33.90%

#36. Georgia

Total 10-year change in obesity rate: +15.87%
Current obesity rate: 31.40%
Current overweight rate: 34.40%

#35. Massachusetts

Total 10-year change in obesity rate: +16.26%
Current obesity rate: 23.60%
Current overweight rate: 36.70%

#34. South Dakota

Total 10-year change in obesity rate: +16.54%
Current obesity rate: 29.60%
Current overweight rate: 37.30%

#33. Missouri

Total 10-year change in obesity rate: +16.54%
Current obesity rate: 31.70%
Current overweight rate: 35.60%

#32. Indiana

Total 10-year change in obesity rate: +16.91%
Current obesity rate: 32.50%
Current overweight rate: 34.70%

#31. Alabama

Total 10-year change in obesity rate: +17.05%
Current obesity rate: 35.70%
Current overweight rate: 33.80%

#30. Delaware

Total 10-year change in obesity rate: +18.08%
Current obesity rate: 30.70%
Current overweight rate: 37.30%

#29. Washington

Total 10-year change in obesity rate: +18.18%
Current obesity rate: 28.60%
Current overweight rate: 34.80%

#28. Florida

Total 10-year change in obesity rate: +18.61%
Current obesity rate: 27.40%
Current overweight rate: 35.80%

#27. New Hampshire

Total 10-year change in obesity rate: +18.75%
Current obesity rate: 26.60%
Current overweight rate: 36.90%

#26. Mississippi

Total 10-year change in obesity rate: +18.79%
Current obesity rate: 37.30%
Current overweight rate: 34.00%

#25. Wyoming

Total 10-year change in obesity rate: +18.88%
Current obesity rate: 27.70%
Current overweight rate: 36.50%

#24. Nebraska

Total 10-year change in obesity rate: +18.96%
Current obesity rate: 32.00%
Current overweight rate: 36.60%

#23. North Carolina

Total 10-year change in obesity rate: +19.55%
Current obesity rate: 31.80%
Current overweight rate: 35.00%

#22. Alaska

Total 10-year change in obesity rate: +19.85%
Current obesity rate: 31.40%
Current overweight rate: 35.30%

#21. Maryland

Total 10-year change in obesity rate: +20.08%
Current obesity rate: 29.90%
Current overweight rate: 34.70%

#20. Montana

Total 10-year change in obesity rate: +20.28%
Current obesity rate: 25.50%
Current overweight rate: 37.30%

#19. Kansas

Total 10-year change in obesity rate: +20.46%
Current obesity rate: 31.20%
Current overweight rate: 35.60%

#18. New Jersey

Total 10-year change in obesity rate: +20.80%
Current obesity rate: 27.30%
Current overweight rate: 36.50%

#17. Tennessee

Total 10-year change in obesity rate: +20.83%
Current obesity rate: 34.80%
Current overweight rate: 33.80%

#16. West Virginia

Total 10-year change in obesity rate: +21.61%
Current obesity rate: 37.70%
Current overweight rate: 33.30%

#15. Kentucky

Total 10-year change in obesity rate: +22.14%
Current obesity rate: 34.20%
Current overweight rate: 34.90%

#14. Colorado

Total 10-year change in obesity rate: +22.53%
Current obesity rate: 22.30%
Current overweight rate: 35.80%

#13. New Mexico

Total 10-year change in obesity rate: +23.58%
Current obesity rate: 28.30%
Current overweight rate: 36.60%

#12. Rhode Island

Total 10-year change in obesity rate: +24.30%
Current obesity rate: 26.60%
Current overweight rate: 37.10%

#11. Iowa

Total 10-year change in obesity rate: +24.51%
Current obesity rate: 32.00%
Current overweight rate: 36.70%

#10. North Dakota

Total 10-year change in obesity rate: +25.59%
Current obesity rate: 31.90%
Current overweight rate: 36.20%

#9. Illinois

Total 10-year change in obesity rate: +25.90%
Current obesity rate: 31.60%
Current overweight rate: 33.40%

#8. Connecticut

Total 10-year change in obesity rate: +26.21%
Current obesity rate: 26.00%
Current overweight rate: 35.90%

#7. Pennsylvania

Total 10-year change in obesity rate: +26.25%
Current obesity rate: 30.30%
Current overweight rate: 35.10%

#6. Arizona

Total 10-year change in obesity rate: +26.64%
Current obesity rate: 29.00%
Current overweight rate: 34.20%

#5. Vermont

Total 10-year change in obesity rate: +27.83%
Current obesity rate: 27.10%
Current overweight rate: 34.70%

#4. Texas

Total 10-year change in obesity rate: +28.74%
Current obesity rate: 33.60%
Current overweight rate: 34.80%

#3. Maine

Total 10-year change in obesity rate: +29.44%
Current obesity rate: 29.90%
Current overweight rate: 35.30%

#2. Louisiana

Total 10-year change in obesity rate: +31.00%
Current obesity rate: 35.50%
Current overweight rate: 33.70%

#1. Arkansas

Total 10-year change in obesity rate: +32.71%
Current obesity rate: 35.70%
Current overweight rate: 32.50%

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