State Obesity Rates: Numbers Get Worse

Since last year's report, obesity got worse in 31 states. How many states got better? Zero.

Mississippi is still the most obese state in the nation. It's the first state in which over 30% of adults are obese.

In 1991, no state's obesity rate topped 20% of adults. In 2006, more than 20% of adults were obese in every state except for Massachusetts (at 19.8%) and Colorado (at 17.6%).

For kids, the news is even worse. Child obesity rates have tripled since 1980 and are growing faster than adult obesity rates. Nearly all obese children will fight health problems for the rest of their lives.

The report comes from monthly self-report telephone interviews conducted in 2006 by the CDC. Since people tend to say they weight less than they actually do, the findings almost certainly underestimate the problem.

1. Mississippi, 30.6% obese (last year's rank: 1)
2. West Virginia, 29.8% obese (last year's rank: 3)
3. Alabama, 29.4% obese (last year's rank: 2)
4. Louisiana, 28.2% obese (last year's rank: 4)
5. (tie for 5th) South Carolina, 27.8% obese (last year's rank: tied for 8th)
5. (tie for 5th) Tennessee, 27.8% obese (last year's rank: 6)
7. Kentucky, 27.5% obese (last year's rank: 5)
8. Arkansas, 27.0% obese (last year's rank: 7)
9. (tie for 9th) Indiana, 26.8% obese (last year's rank: tied for 8th)
9. (tie for 9th) Michigan, 26.8% obese (last year's rank: 11)
9. (tie for 9th) Oklahoma, 26.8% obese (last year's rank: 13)

For the first time, the report lists the states (including the District of Columbia) with the highest percentage of obese children aged 10-17:
1. District of Columbia, 22.8% of children/teens obese
2. West Virginia, 20.9% of children/teens obese
3. Kentucky, 20.6% of children/teens obese
4. Tennessee, 20.0% of children/teens obese
5. North Carolina, 19.3% of children/teens obese
6. Texas, 19.1% of children/teens obese
7. South Carolina, 18.9% of children/teens obese
8. Mississippi, 17.8% of children/teens obese
9. Louisiana, 17.2% of children/teens obese
10. New Mexico, 16.8% of children/teens obese