The ten states with the highest adult obesity rates were recently ranked by U.S. News, also scoring the public health and giving an overall health rating for the states.
Missouri has the tenth-highest obesity rate at 37.4%. The state also ranked 40 for their public health ranking and 30 overall in the best state rankings, per U.S. News.
Following close behind Missouri was Ohio, with an obesity rate of 37.5%. Ohio earned rankings of 42 for public health and 34 in the best overall state rankings.
The eighth-highest obesity rate for a state is Louisiana at 38.5%, which ranks 45 for public health and 50 for overall state rankings. The next highest is South Dakota, with a rate of 38.6%. The state also obtained rankings of 35 for public health and 12 for the best overall state, despite the high level of obesity.
Next on the list is Arkansas, which has an obesity rate of 38.9% and was ranked 49 for public health and 45 in the overall state rankings. The state with the fifth highest obesity rate is Mississippi, at 39.2%. It was also ranked 46 for public health and 48 for overall state rankings.
Oklahoma is next with an obesity rate of 39.6%, with a public health ranking of 44 and an overall state ranking of 43. Kentucky is the first state on the list to have an obesity rate of over 40%, with a rate of 40.3%. It also ranked 48 for public health and 39 for the best overall state.
The two states with the highest obesity rates are Alabama and West Virginia. Alabama has an obesity rate of 40.4%, ranking 47 for public health and 44 for the best overall state. Finally, West Virginia has the highest obesity rate of any U.S. state at 40.7%. The state is also near the bottom of public health and overall state rankings, coming in at 50 and 46.
U.S. News reports that Texas has an obesity rate of 35.9%, slightly higher than the national average of 33.7%. The state also ranked 23 for public health and received a ranking of 35 for best overall states.
However, the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metroplex was ranked as the 26th most obese metro in 2023, according to a study performed by Wallet Hub. The ranking is higher than last year when the metroplex was ranked the 27th most obese, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
Colorado and Hawaii were listed as the states with the lowest obesity rates at 25% and 25.9%.