New Obesity Maps Show US Adults Still Struggle with Obesity

Media Advisory

For Immediate Release: Thursday, September 1, 2016
Contact: CDC Media Relations
404-639-3286

CDC today released 2015 state- and territory-specific data on adult obesity prevalence using self-reported information from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS).

The 2015 maps show that the proportion of adults with obesity in the United States remains high.

Highlights

  • All states had more than 1 in 5 adults (20 percent) with obesity.
  • Estimates vary across states, ranging from 20.2 percent in Colorado to 36.2 percent in Louisiana.

According to combined data from 2013-2015:

  • Self-reported obesity for Non-Hispanic blacks was 38.1 percent.
  • Self-reported obesity for Hispanics was 31.9 percent.
  • Self-reported obesity for non-Hispanic whites was 27.6 percent.
  • Self-reported obesity for non-Hispanic whites was 35 percent or higher in two states.
  • Self-reported obesity for Hispanics was 35 percent or higher in 11 states.
  • Self-reported obesity for non-Hispanic blacks was 35 percent or higher in 34 states and the District of Columbia.

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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES