The Slimmest and Fattest States in America

Yahoo Health
Updated
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The latest rankings are in. How does your state measure up? (Photo: Getty Images)

Hawaii deserves a round of applause for this wellness victory: According to a new Gallup-Healthways poll, the state was the only one in country to notch an obesity rate below 20 percent.

The state earned top marks, with just 19 percent of its citizens falling into the obese category. Colorado grabbed second place, with an obesity rate of 20.3 percent, followed by Montana at 23.5 percent. At the bottom end of the spectrum, Mississippi earned the lowest mark; more than third of the state’s residents are obese — roughly 35.2 percent.

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(Graphic: Gallup Healthways) 

The statistics were rounded up as part of the Gallup-Healthways Wellbeing Index, which included 176,702 random telephone interviews with adults from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. BMIs were calculated based on these residents’ self-reported heights and weights. A person who has a BMI greater than 30 is considered clinically obese.

Nationally, obesity is still climbing — up from 25.5 percent in 2008, to 27.1 percent in 2013, and 27.7 percent in 2014. Overall, Southern and Midwestern territories fared worse than other areas. Four states saw statistically significant jumps in obesity — Nevada, New Mexico, Alabama, and Minnesota — and just one, Tennessee, saw a statistically significant drop.

Related: The States with the Highest Well-Being

We know obesity is linked to a host of diseases and long-term health effects, such as diabetes and high blood pressure, but Gallup-Healthways data has also linked the condition to lower overall well-being. Among some key stats, obese people are 29.3 percent more prone to feeling a lack of purpose when compared to people who are not obese, and are 33.7 percent more likely to be suffering setbacks in their financial well-being.

Why does this matter? Generally, Americans have a stronger desire to shed weight than their efforts reflect, and targeting aspects of well-being may help. For instance, creating a supportive social network to help meet weight-loss goals and having adequate money for healthy foods could potentially give a those trying to drop pounds a small boost.

You can check out the complete list of states’ obesity rankings below, and the entire Gallup-Healthways report here.

The U.S. states, ranked by percentage of obesity: 

  1. Hawaii 19.0%

  2. Colorado 20.3%

  3. Montana 23.5%

  4. California 23.9%

  5. Massachusetts 24.0%

  6. Idaho 24.2%

  7. South Dakota 24.6%

  8. New York 24.7%

  9. Minnesota 24.8%

  10. Connecticut 24.9%

  11. Utah 25.1%

  12. Oregon 25.1%

  13. Washington 25.5%

  14. Maine 25.9%

  15. Florida 26.0%

  16. New Jersey 26.2%

  17. Arizona 26.3%

  18. Maryland 26.6%

  19. Nevada 26.8%

  20. Vermont 26.8%

  21. Georgia 27.1%

  22. New Hampshire 27.1%

  23. Virginia 27.2%

  24. Alaska 27.2%

  25. Illinois 27.3%

  26. Wyoming 27.4%

  27. Rhode Island 27.9%

  28. New Mexico 28.0%

  29. North Carolina 28.3%

  30. Tennessee 28.4%

  31. Delaware 28.5%

  32. North Dakota 28.6%

  33. Pennsylvania 28.6%

  34. South Carolina 28.6%

  35. Nebraska 28.8%

  36. Wisconsin 28.8%

  37. Kansas 29.3%

  38. Texas 29.7%

  39. Ohio 29.9%

  40. Michigan 30.8%

  41. Missouri 30.9%

  42. Iowa 31.1%

  43. Indiana 31.4%

  44. Kentucky 31.5%

  45. Alabama 32.1%

  46. Oklahoma 32.6%

  47. Arkansas 33.0%

  48. Louisiana 33.2%

  49. West Virginia 34.3%

  50. Mississippi 35.2%

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