Forty-two percent of adults in the U.S. are living with obesity, meaning they have a body mass index of 30 or higher, according to an analysis from NORC at the University of Chicago.
Researchers used 2013 to 2021 data from the CDC's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System to estimate obesity rates at the national and state level. To account for any reporting biases in the BMI measure, NORC adjusted BMI distribution to that of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey for corresponding time periods. NORC also created an interactive map to present its findings.
Here are the estimated state obesity rates for 2019 to 2021, ranked from highest to lowest:
Mississippi: 51 percent
West Virginia: 51
Alabama: 49.9
Oklahoma: 49.5
Arkansas: 48.8
Kentucky: 48.8
Louisiana: 47.9
Iowa: 47.6
South Dakota: 47.6
Tennessee: 47.5
Kansas: 47.4
Indiana: 47.3
North Dakota: 47.3
Ohio: 46.7
Nebraska: 46.3
Missouri: 46.2
Michigan: 46.1
Texas: 46.1
South Carolina: 45.7
Delaware: 45
North Carolina: 45
Wisconsin: 44.8
New Mexico: 44
Georgia: 43.6
Illinois: 43.5
Virginia: 43.5
Alaska: 43.2
Wyoming: 43.2
Pennsylvania: 43.1
Maryland: 42.7
New Hampshire: 42.5
Arizona: 42.4
Idaho: 42.1
Minnesota: 41.9
Maine: 41.8
Nevada: 41.4
Utah: 41.1
Montana: 40.8
Rhode Island: 40.6
Connecticut: 40.4
Oregon: 39.9
Washington: 38.8
New Jersey: 38.7
Florida: 38.2
California: 37.6
New York: 37.4
Vermont: 36.9
Hawaii: 35.8
Massachusetts: 35.5
Colorado: 34.1