There isn’t a single state in the United States with an adult obesity rate under 20 percent.
Four states — Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and West Virginia — have obesity rates that top 35 percent, according to new data published Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But promisingly, for the most part, the rates stayed stable between 2014 and 2015.
CDC
Here’s how the numbers break down:
One thing to keep in mind: The numbers are self-reported, so it’s possible obesity rates are actually higher.
“The stakes could not be higher,” Dr. Donald Schwartz of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which helped prepare the report, told journalists on Thursday. “The obesity epidemic is taking a toll on the country’s health.”
Schwartz said there’s work to be done in making sure everyone in the US has access to healthy, affordable food, and safe places to exercise.