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The number of U.S. states where 35% or more of adults were obese dropped slightly in 2024, according to a report released Thursday analyzing federal health data.
Nineteen states had these particularly high rates of adult obesity, down from 23 states a year earlier.
“That’s actually the first time that there’s been a decrease in the number of states that are at or above that 35% level since this dataset began in 2011,” said Dr. J. Nadine Gracia, president and CEO of the Trust for America’s Health, the nonpartisan public health research and policy organization that released its annual “State of Obesity” report.
The states where obesity declined below this threshold were Alaska, Illinois, Missouri, and New Mexico.
Yet what may be progress in some parts of the country is set against a backdrop of a continuing national obesity epidemic, the data show. Across the country, 4 in 10 U.S. adults have obesity, which is defined as a body mass index of 30 or above.
“The rates of obesity in the nation remain alarmingly high,” Gracia told Healthbeat. “The data show that over more than two decades, obesity rates have increased by 32% among adults and 52% among children and adolescents.”
Each year the organization analyzes data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to track U.S. obesity rates and offer policy solutions. This year’s recommendations include reversing cuts to federal nutrition programs and urging the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to require nutrition labels on the front of packages.
Key takeaways from this year’s 140-page report:
Worst states had obesity rates near or above 40%
West Virginia at 41.4%; Mississippi at 40.4%; and Louisiana at 39.2% had the highest adult obesity rates, according to the group’s analysis of 2024 data from the CDC’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.
Georgia had an adult obesity rate of 35.4%, ranking No. 19 in the nation.
Best states had obesity rates of about 25%
Colorado at 25%; Washington, D.C., at 25.5%; and Hawaii and Massachusetts both at 27% had the nation’s lowest adult obesity rates.
New York had an adult obesity rate of 29.5%, ranking No. 43 in the nation.
Obesity data continue to show disparities
Obesity rates varied by race, ethnicity, education, and where people lived.
Black adults had the highest rate of obesity at 49.9%, followed by adults who were Hispanic (45.6%), white (41.4%), and Asian (16.1%).
There tended to be more obesity among people living in rural areas than in metro areas. People with college degrees and higher incomes also tended to have lower obesity rates, the report notes.
“We know factors like poverty, like food insecurity, having access to healthy and nutritious foods, housing instability, and access to health care, all of these influence increased risk of chronic diseases, including obesity,” Gracia said.
Politics provide opportunities and challenges
Chronic disease has been highlighted as a priority issue by the Trump administration, which has created the Make America Healthy Again Commission. Yet the report notes the administration has laid off federal health workers and restricted funding of programs that address obesity, chronic disease, and nutrition.
A key example cited in the report is the “near total elimination” in the president’s fiscal year 2026 budget request of the CDC’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, which leads and funds “cornerstone” obesity and chronic disease programs at the local, state, and national levels. The report recommends keeping and strengthening this CDC center.
Ultra-processed foods draw attention from policymakers
The report says that while there are currently no federal statutes or regulations that specifically define or regulate ultra-processed foods in the United States, there is mounting evidence connecting such foods with obesity and other negative health effects.
In July, federal health agencies sought public input on how to develop a uniform definition of ultra-processed foods. The report notes that while state legislators have introduced a number of bills related to ultra-processed foods, there has been limited movement. However earlier this month, California became the first state to prohibit certain ultra-processed foods in public school meals, a policy that will be phased-in over 10 years.
Alison Young is Healthbeat’s senior national reporter. Contact Alison at ayoung@healthbeat.org.
