Obesity Statistics in the United States
Updated: July 2009
Obesity Trends Among U.S. Adults, 2008 | 2008 State Obesity Rates| Percentage of Children Who Are Overweight or Obese: 2007 | Prevalence of Overweight Among Children and Adolescents | State-Level Estimated Annual Medical Costs of Obesity | Obesity and Disease
Percent of Obese (BMI > 30) in U.S. Adults
Source: Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System 2008
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2008 State Obesity Rates
State
|
%
|
State
|
%
|
State
|
%
|
State
|
%
|
|
Alabama
|
31.4
|
Illinois
|
26.4
|
Montana
|
23.9
|
Rhode Island
|
21.5
|
|
Alaska
|
26.1
|
Indiana
|
26.3
|
Nebraska
|
26.6
|
South Carolina
|
30.1
|
|
Arizona
|
24.8
|
Iowa
|
26.0
|
Nevada
|
25.0
|
South Dakota
|
27.5
|
|
Arkansas
|
28.7
|
Kansas
|
27.4
|
New Hampshire
|
24.0
|
Tennessee
|
30.6
|
|
California
|
23.7
|
Kentucky
|
29.8
|
New Jersey
|
22.9
|
Texas
|
28.3
|
|
Colorado
|
18.5
|
Louisiana
|
28.3
|
New Mexico
|
25.2
|
Utah
|
22.5
|
|
Connecticut
|
21.0
|
Maine
|
25.2
|
New York
|
24.4
|
Vermont
|
22.7
|
|
Delaware
|
27.0
|
Maryland
|
26.0
|
North Carolina
|
29.0
|
Virginia
|
25.0
|
|
Washington DC
|
21.8
|
Massachusetts
|
20.9
|
North Dakota
|
27.1
|
Washington
|
25.4
|
|
Florida
|
24.4
|
Michigan
|
28.9
|
Ohio
|
28.7
|
West Virginia
|
31.2
|
|
Georgia
|
27.3
|
Minnesota
|
24.3
|
Oklahoma
|
30.3
|
Wisconsin
|
25.4
|
|
Hawaii
|
22.6
|
Mississippi
|
32.8
|
Oregon
|
24.2
|
Wyoming
|
24.6
|
|
Idaho
|
24.5
|
Missouri
|
28.5
|
Pennsylvania
|
27.7
|
|
|
Source: Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System 2008
Prevalence of overweight among children and adolescents ages 2-19 years
|
Age (years)1
|
1963-65
1966-702
|
1971-74
|
1976-80
|
1988-94
|
1999-2000
|
2001-02
|
2003-04
|
|
2-5
|
-
|
5%
|
5%
|
7.2%
|
10.3%
|
10.6%
|
13.9%
|
|
6-11
|
4.2%
|
4%
|
6.5%
|
11.3%
|
15.1%
|
16.3%
|
18.8%
|
|
12-19
|
4.6%
|
6.1%
|
5%
|
10.5%
|
14.8%
|
16.7%
|
17.4%
|
1Excludes pregnant women starting with 1971-74. Pregnancy status not available for 1963-65 and 1966-70.
2Data for 1963-65 are for children 6-11 years of age; data for 1966-70 are for adolescents 12-17 years of age, not 12-19 years.
Source: Center for Disease Control and Prevention, NHANES
State-Level Estimated Annual Medical Costs of Obesity
Estimated Adult Obesity-Attributable Percentages and Expenditures, by State (1998–2000)
|
State
|
(Millions $)
|
|
Alabama
|
$1320
|
|
Alaska
|
$195
|
|
Arizona
|
$752
|
|
Arkansas
|
$663
|
|
California
|
$7675
|
|
Colorado
|
$874
|
|
Connecticut
|
$856
|
|
Delaware
|
$207
|
|
District of Columbia
|
$372
|
|
Florida
|
$3987
|
|
Georgia
|
$2133
|
|
Hawaii
|
$290
|
|
Idaho
|
$227
|
|
Illinois
|
$3439
|
|
Indiana
|
$1637
|
|
Iowa
|
$783
|
|
Kansas
|
$657
|
|
Kentucky
|
$1163
|
|
Louisiana
|
$1373
|
|
Maine
|
$357
|
|
Maryland
|
$1533
|
|
Massachusetts
|
$1822
|
|
Michigan
|
$2931
|
|
Minnesota
|
$1307
|
|
Mississippi
|
$757
|
|
Missouri
|
$1636
|
|
Montana
|
$175
|
|
Nebraska
|
$454
|
|
Nevada
|
$337
|
|
New Hampshire
|
$302
|
|
New Jersey
|
$2342
|
|
New Mexico
|
$324
|
|
New York
|
$6080
|
|
North Carolina
|
$2138
|
|
North Dakota
|
$209
|
|
Oklahoma
|
$854
|
|
Ohio
|
$3304
|
|
Oregon
|
$781
|
|
Pennsylvania
|
$4138
|
|
Puerto Rico
|
|
|
Rhode Island
|
$305
|
|
South Carolina
|
$1060
|
|
South Dakota
|
$195
|
|
Tennessee
|
$1840
|
|
Texas
|
$5340
|
|
Utah
|
$393
|
|
Vermont
|
$141
|
|
Virginia
|
$1641
|
|
Washington
|
$1330
|
|
West Virginia
|
$588
|
|
Wisconsin
|
$1486
|
|
Wyoming
|
$87
|
|
Total
|
$75,051
|
Source: Finkelstein, Fiebelkorn, and Wang, 2004.
References
(NHANES) National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999–2000
Finkelstein, EA, Fiebelkorn, IC, Wang, G. National medical spending attributable to overweight and obesity: How much, and who’s paying? Health Affairs 2003;W3;219–226.
Finkelstein, EA, Fiebelkorn, IC, Wang, G. State-level estimates of annual medical expenditures attributable to obesity. Obesity Research 2004;12(1):18–24.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Surgeon General's call to action to prevent and decrease overweight and obesity. [Rockville, MD]: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Office of the Surgeon General, [2001]. Available from: US GPO, Washington. Wolf AM, Colditz GA. Current estimates of the economic cost of obesity in the United States. Obesity Research.1998;6(2):97–106. Wolf, A. What is the economic case for treating obesity? Obesity Research. 1998;6(suppl)2S–7S.
Overweight and obese individuals are at increased risk for many diseases and health chronic conditions, including the following:
Hypertension (high blood pressure)
Osteoarthritis (a degeneration of cartilage and its underlying bone within a joint)
Dyslipidemia (for example, high total cholesterol or high levels of triglycerides)
Type 2 diabetes
Heart disease
Stroke
Gallbladder disease
Sleep apnea and respiratory problems
Some cancers (endometrial, breast, and colon)
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