Obesity rates improve in some states, study shows: Here's where they remain highest

(NEXSTAR) -- The number of states with high adult obesity rates has dropped for the first time in more than a decade, a new report released Thursday found.

The nonprofit Trust for America's Health analyzed data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and determined that in 19 states, the adult obesity rate was at or above 35% in 2024. While still high, that's down from 23 states in 2023.

In 2012, no state's adult obesity rate was at or above the 35% benchmark. By 2019, a dozen states had rates that high — and the number continued to climb.

Obesity is a chronic disease linked to a host of serious health problems including diabetes, stroke, cancer and heart disease, that is defined by a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or more in adults. BMI is a calculation that divides a person's weight in kilograms by the square of their height in meters. (Experts warn, however, that BMI is not the best measure for varying body structures.)

The states with the highest obesity rates were found throughout the Plains, the South, and into the Midwest, while coastal states primarily had lower rates. West Virginia had the highest rates of obesity among adults at 41.4%, according to the Trust for America's Health, while Colorado had the lowest rates at 25%.

The interactive map below shows the percentage of adults with obesity based on data released in Thursday's report.

In total, 20 states saw a decline in the rate of adults with obesity. However, the greatest decline was just 2%, seen in Virginia. Nevada saw the highest increase in the rate of adult obesity at 3.4%.

The states that saw their adult obesity rates drop below 35% were Alaska, Illinois, Missouri, New Mexico, and South Carolina. Texas' rate increased from 34.4% in last year's report to 35.6% this year, the nonprofit's report found.

While an overall drop in states with higher obesity rates is promising, the study found that obesity rates among children and teens have surpassed 21%, marking an increase from the rate of 19.7% calculated from 2017-2020 data.

Last year, Trust for America's Health called the obesity rate among U.S. adults an "epidemic." The latest data shows that nationally, 4 in 10 adults have obesity, roughly the same rate the nonprofit reported in 2024.

A U.S. Health and Human Services Department spokesman told the Associated Press that the administration is “encouraged by the new data showing progress in the fight against obesity."

“We are restructuring public health programs to eliminate waste, reduce bureaucracy, and redirect resources toward real prevention,” said spokesman Andrew Nixon.

It's not clear exactly what may be driving the apparent improvements in obesity among adults. Wider use of drugs such as Wegovy and Zepbound — which target appetite and slow digestion — could be starting to show up in reported data, said Aviva Musicus, a science director for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, an advocacy group. Increased support for nutrition assistance programs during the COVID-19 pandemic might also be a factor, she suggested.

Some of that assistance is ending, however. The SNAP Nutrition Education and Obesity Prevention Grant Program, which helped expand access to healthy food, was eliminated under the One Big Beautiful Bill. In addition, some SNAP recipients may soon see their eligibility change as part of the mega-bill signed into law over the summer.

Thursday's report also detailed a broad range of federal, state and local efforts that focus on improving nutrition and boosting physical activity, said Solveig Cunningham, an Emory University global health expert who specializes in obesity.

“I think the report would argue that some of these interventions may actually be successful,” said Cunningham, who was not involved with the research. “That would suggest that there are possibly ways in which we could prevent obesity at the population level, which would be a really, really big deal.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.