Nearly Half of U.S. Adults Are Obese

A new NORC interactive map provides state-level data on obesity rates and related chronic diseases.

Obesity rates have inched up over the past decade and now nearly half (42%) of adults in the United States are severely overweight, from a high of 51% in West Virginia to a low of 33% in Washington, DC, according to a new report from NORC at the University of Chicago.

"Millions of people in the United States live with the chronic, complex, but treatable disease of obesity," says Sarah Rayel, director of Health Care Strategy at NORC. "The latest analysis of obesity rates provides a better understanding of the prevalence of obesity in specific regions, while also highlighting that obesity is an issue in every state in the country."

A map funded by Novo Nordisk allows NORC researchers, policymakers, and the public to compare rates of obesity and obesity-related diseases across the United States, including demographics such as age, sex, race/ethnicity, urbanicity, and education level, across three time periods: 2013-2015, 2016-2018, and 2019-2021.

Obesity has long been linked to other chronic conditions that are among the leading causes of preventable, premature death.

The new interactive map also contains state-level estimates for rates of nine conditions associated with obesity: hypertension, arthritis, stroke, cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease, heart attack, diabetes, high cholesterol, and kidney disease. NORC designed the new tool to show how obesity intersects with these nine conditions, illustrating the important relationship between obesity and other common, deadly diseases.

"As the number of adults living with obesity continues to rise, it is increasingly important for both researchers and policymakers to understand how obesity interacts with other conditions," Rayel says. "This new mapping tool provides the opportunity to do just that. The tool can also be used to better target treatment and policy solutions, which are crucial in improving health outcomes."

Here's a state-by-state breakdown of obesity rates.

Alabama – 49.9%

Alaska – 43.2%

Arizona – 42.4%

Arkansas – 48.8%

California – 37.6%

Colorado – 34.1%

Connecticut – 40.4%

Delaware – 45.0%

Florida – 38.2%

Georgia – 43.6%

Hawaii – 35.8%

Idaho – 42.1%

Illinois – 43.5%

Indiana – 47.3%

Iowa – 47.6%

Kansas – 47.4%

Kentucky – 48.8%

Louisiana – 47.9%

Maine – 41.8%

Maryland – 42.7%

Massachusetts – 35.5%

Michigan – 46.1%

Minnesota – 41.9%

Mississippi – 51.0%

Missouri – 46.2%

Montana – 40.8%

Nebraska – 46.3%

Nevada – 41.4%

New Hampshire – 42.5%

New Jersey – 38.7%

New Mexico – 44.1%

New York – 37.4%

North Carolina – 45.0%

North Dakota – 47.3%

Ohio – 46.7%

Oklahoma – 49.5%

Oregon – 39.9%

Pennsylvania – 43.1%

Rhode Island – 40.6%

South Carolina – 45.7%

South Dakota – 47.6%

Tennessee – 47.5%

Texas – 46.1%

Utah – 41.1%

Vermont – 36.9%

Virginia – 43.5%

Washington – 38.8%

Washington, DC – 33.0%

West Virginia – 51.1%

Wisconsin – 44.8%

Wyoming – 43.2%