The 2018 data from Trust for America's Health finds that obesity rates have topped 35% in nine U.S. states in 2018, which is up from just seven in 2017. The states with the highest obesity rates include Mississippi and West Virginia, where levels are at 39.5%. As for the state with the lowest obesity rate, that is Colorado, where only 23% of the state is obese, followed by Washington DC, where obesity rates are only 24.7%
Ten States With The Highest Obesity Rates in the U.S.
1. Mississippi (39.5%)
1. West Virginia (39.5%)
3. Arkansas (37.1%)
4. Louisiana (36.8%)
5. Kentucky (36.6%)
6. Alabama (36.2%)
7. Iowa (35.3%)
8. North Dakota (35.1%)
9. Missouri, (35.0%)
10. Oklahoma (34.8%)
10. Texas (34.8%)
Ten States With The Lowest Obesity Rates in the U.S.
1. Colorado (23%)
2. Washington, DC (24.7%)
3. Hawaii (24.9%)
4. New Jersey (25.7%)
4. Massachusetts (25.7%)
6. California (25.8%)
7. Montana (26.9%
8. Connecticut (27.4%)
9. Vermont (27.5%)
10. New York (27.6%)
As for us in South Carolina we're at 14 with 34.3% of our people listed as obese. In 2017 we were 10th fattest with 34.1% obese. So we did get fatter but other states got fatter faster! If you go back a decade we were in 5th but only 29.7% were obese at that time. The first year they kept records was 1990 and South Carolina was listed as the 13th fattest state with 12% of the population classified as obese. That would make us far and away the fittest state in 2018!