What Are The Most Obese States In America?
With the obesity rate climbing steadily over the last decade (one in three adult Americans are considered to be obese today), and fast food creations like the KFC DoubleDown still being sold everywhere, we have one thing to say: America, we need to talk. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has released a comprehensive report on the State of Obesity: looking at the who, where, why, and how of obesity in America. In the report, the foundation broke down all 51 states and territories by obesity rate. The skinniest state — Colorado — still has a 21.3 percent obesity rate, meaning that in every state in our grand country, at least one in five people are way over a healthy weight and BMI.
In 1990, the highest obesity rate was 15 percent in Mississippi, and today, Mississippi has a 35.1 percent obesity rate.
So who are the worst culprits? We'll break it down:
Top 10 Most Obese States in America
#10 South Carolina, 31.7 percent
#9 Indiana, 31.8 percent
#8 Alabama, 32.4 percent
#7 Oklahoma, 32.5 percent
#6 Louisiana, 33.1 percent
#5 Kentucky, 33.2 percent
#4 Tennessee, 33.7 percent
#3 Arkansas, 34.6 percent
#2 West Virginia, 35.1 percent
#1 Mississippi, 35.1 percent
Top 5 Least Obese States in America
#5 Utah, 24.1 percent
#4 Massachusetts, 23.6 percent
#3 District of Columbia, 22.9 percent
#2 Hawaii, 21.8 percent
#1 Colorado, 21.3 percent
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Joanna Fantozzi is an Associate Editor with The Daily Meal. Follow her on Twitter@JoannaFantozzi