Prevalence of obesity in the US

What portion of each state’s adult population is obese?

For more maps, follow Landgeist on Instagram or X / Twitter or sign up for our newsletter:

Prevalence of obesity in the United States

Like this map and want to support Landgeist? The best way to support Landgeist, is by sharing this map. When you share this map, make sure that you credit Landgeist and link to the source article. If you share it on Instagram, just tag @Land_geist. On X / Twitter tag @Landgeist.

Recently, we looked at the prevalence of obesity in Europe. Today we’re going to have a closer look at the US.

The US has a reputation for having a lot of obese people. Although it’s not the most obese country in the world (which is Nauru with 61% of it’s adult population being obese), it still ranks among the highest in the world. With 36.2% of American adults being obese, the US ranks 12th globally. Kuwait is 11th and the top 10 is completely represented by countries in the Pacific. Turkey is the highest in Europe (32.1%) and ranks 17th globally.

The obesity rate is highest in West Virginia and Mississippi, where almost 40% of adults are obese. Arkansas (37.1%), Louisiana (36.8%), Kentucky (36.6%) and Alabama (36.2%) also have one of the highest rates of obesity in the US.

On the other end of the ranking, we find Colorado. With only 23% of its adult population being obese. It’s the lowest in the United States. D.C. (24.7%), Hawaii (24.9%), New Jersey (25.7%), Massachusetts (25.7%) and California (25.8%) are also amongst the lowest in the US.

food, Health, USA

8 responses to “Prevalence of obesity in the US”

De bättre alternativen till fröoljorna – Del 3 av 3 – Vinnarskolan

Feb 11, 2024 at 12:41 pm

[…] har börjat sprida sig snabbt även i utvecklingsländerna. Situationen här må inte vara lika illa som i USA men vi är på god väg ifall ingenting görs inom kort av såväl samhälle som […]

LikeLike

Reply
joel rivard

Dec 8, 2023 at 7:44 am

All the numbers added up and divided by 50 do not equal 36.2, I might have missed one but it looks to be around 33%

LikeLike

Reply
1. Jandj
  
  Jun 23, 2024 at 9:47 pm
  
  Not each state has the same number of people. IF the average of a state with 10 ppl is 0% and there are 10 states with 1 person each being obese, the overall average would be 50%, not 10/11=91%.
  
  LikeLike
  
  Reply
(GPR) Global Perspectives and RESEARCH ’22: Should Governments Provide Universal Health Coverage? – The Quill

Oct 5, 2022 at 8:17 am

[…] Image Credit: https://www.thebalancemoney.com/organization-economic-cooperation-development-3305871 Image Credit: https://landgeist.com/2021/05/07/prevalence-of-obesity-in-the-us/ […]

LikeLike

Reply
Obesity in Africa – Landgeist

Mar 28, 2022 at 3:33 pm

[…] Curious about obesity rates in other continents? I’ve made maps about obesity rates before for: Asia, Europe, South America and the US. […]

LikeLike

Reply
Prevalence of Obesity in South America – Landgeist

Dec 9, 2021 at 3:30 pm

[…] How do these numbers compare to other countries around the world? The whole global top 10 is in the Pacific, with Nauru being the highest (61%). The highest outside the top 10 are Kuwait (37.9%) and the US (36.2%). Argentina ranks 30th globally, Chile 32nd and the Uruguay 33rd. The lowest is Vietnam, where only 2.1% of the adult population is obese. Curious about obesity rates in other continents? I’ve made maps about obesity rates before for Europe and Asia and the US. […]

LikeLike

Reply
Physical Activity – Landgeist

Nov 23, 2021 at 3:31 pm

[…] Curious how this compares to the obesity rate? Check out this map of the obesity rate in the US. […]

LikeLike

Reply
Obesity in Asia – Landgeist

Jul 15, 2021 at 2:30 pm

[…] looked at obesity in Europe and the United States before, this time we’re going to look at […]

LikeLike

Reply