U.S. Obesity Trends
Trends by State 1985–2008
Obesity is defined as a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or greater. BMI is calculated from a person's weight and height and provides a reasonable indicator of body fatness and weight categories that may lead to health problems. Obesity is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, certain types of cancer, and type 2 diabetes. During the past 20 years there has been a dramatic increase in obesity in the United States. In 2008, only one state (Colorado) had a prevalence of obesity less than 20%. Thirty-two states had a prevalence equal to or greater than 25%; six of these states (Alabama, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia ) had a prevalence of obesity equal to or greater than 30%.
The animated map below shows the United States obesity prevalence from 1985 through 2008.
| 2008 State Obesity Rates |
| State |
% |
State |
% |
State |
% |
State |
% |
| Alabama |
31.4 |
Illinois |
26.4 |
Montana |
23.9 |
Rhode Island |
21.5 |
| Alaska |
26.1 |
Indiana |
26.3 |
Nebraska |
26.6 |
South Carolina |
30.1 |
| Arizona |
24.8 |
Iowa |
26.0 |
Nevada |
25.0 |
South Dakota |
27.5 |
| Arkansas |
28.7 |
Kansas |
27.4 |
New Hampshire |
24.0 |
Tennessee |
30.6 |
| California |
23.7 |
Kentucky |
29.8 |
New Jersey |
22.9 |
Texas |
28.3 |
| Colorado |
18.5 |
Louisiana |
28.3 |
New Mexico |
25.2 |
Utah |
22.5 |
| Connecticut |
21.0 |
Maine |
25.2 |
New York |
24.4 |
Vermont |
22.7 |
| Delaware |
27.0 |
Maryland |
26.0 |
North Carolina |
29.0 |
Virginia |
25.0 |
| Washington DC |
21.8 |
Massachusetts |
20.9 |
North Dakota |
27.1 |
Washington |
25.4 |
| Florida |
24.4 |
Michigan |
28.9 |
Ohio |
28.7 |
West Virginia |
31.2 |
| Georgia |
27.3 |
Minnesota |
24.3 |
Oklahoma |
30.3 |
Wisconsin |
25.4 |
| Hawaii |
22.6 |
Mississippi |
32.8 |
Oregon |
24.2 |
Wyoming |
24.6 |
| Idaho |
24.5 |
Missouri |
28.5 |
Pennsylvania |
27.7 |
|
|
Get the statistics on a county by county basis from each state
Obesity by Race/Ethnicity 2006-2008
New Obesity Data Shows Blacks Have the Highest Rates of Obesity
Blacks had 51 percent higher prevalence of obesity, and Hispanics had 21 percent higher obesity prevalence compared with whites.
Greater prevalences of obesity for blacks and whites were found in the South and Midwest than in the West and Northeast. Hispanics in the Northeast had lower obesity prevalence than Hispanics in the Midwest, South or West.
For this study analysis, CDC analyzed the 2006−2008 BRFSS data.
For more, see Differences in Prevalence of Obesity Among Black, White, and Hispanic Adults — United States, 2006–2008.
Also available in a PDF version (PDF-1.3Mb).
White Non-Hispanic
Hispanic
Black Non-Hispanic
County-Specific Diabetes and Obesity Prevalence, 2007
Wide sections of the Southeast, Appalachia, and some tribal lands in the West and Northern Plains have the nation's highest rates of obesity and diabetes. In many counties in those regions, rates of diagnosed diabetes exceed 10 percent and obesity prevalence is more than 30 percent.
Eighty-one percent of counties in the Appalachian region that includes Kentucky, Tennessee, and West Virginia have high rates of diabetes and obesity. So do three-quarters of counties in the southern region that includes Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina.
The estimates, in this week’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, are the first to provide county-level snapshots of obesity across the United States. They also update diabetes county-level estimates released in 2008.
For more, see
Obesity
Diabetes
Obesity and Diabetes
Related Resources
Trends in Childhood Obesity
Data from NHANES surveys (1976–1980 and 2003–2006) show that the prevalence of obesity has increased: for children aged 2–5 years, prevalence increased from 5.0% to 12.4%; for those aged 6–11 years, prevalence increased from 6.5% to 17.0%; and for those aged 12–19 years, prevalence increased from 5.0% to 17.6%
Obesity Prevalence Among Low-Income, Preschool-Aged Children 1998–2008
One of 7 low-income, preschool-aged children is obese, but the obesity epidemic may be stabilizing.
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