Mississippi Is The Fattest State For 9th Straight Year

Mississippi is the fattest state for 9th straight year, Colorado still leanest, Arkansas getting fatter, Hawaii slimmer

For 2014 Mississippi has claimed the title of fattest state for the ninth consecutive year, while Colorado continues its streak as the leanest. Alaska rose the most places in the rankings over last year, while California dropped the most, according to a new analysis by CalorieLab, Inc.

Most Obese States

Louisiana and West Virginia changed places with Loisiana rising to second place, with Arkansas and Alabama also changing places, Arkansas rising to fourth place.

Arkansas recorded a three-year obesity percentage average rise of 1.2 percent, while Alaska rose 1.1 percent. Three states’ obesity rates rose 1.0 percent: North Dakota, Wisconsin, and Nevada.

Thinnest States

Colorado repeats as the slimmest state for the fifth consequtive year. Hawaii unseated the District of Columbia as second slimmest state, a spot D.C. had held for three years.

Ranking and Obesity Changes

Alaska rose the most slots in the rankings for 2014, rising 5 places, while California dropped the most, 5 places.

As mentioned above, Arkansas’s three-year obesity average rose the most, 1.2 percent, while Hawaii’s fell the most, 0.5 percent. Wisconsin’s and Nevada’s averages rose 1.0 percent. Oregon’s average dropped 0.4 percent, while Missouri’s average dropped 0.3 percent. Alabama’s, Florida’s and California’s averages all dropped 0.2 percent.

Regional Obesity by State Trends

In general, states in the West and New England rank lowest in the fattest states rankings, while states in the South and the Rust Belt tend to rank highest.

CalorieLab computed the fattest state rankings for this year based on the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System database maintained by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Although the CDC helps to coordinate the collection of state health data, the surveys themselves are planned and carried out by state authorities, not the CDC. The survey design and execution, subject selection, and sample size vary by state. Data from some states may be more reliable than data from others, so this ranking should be taken with a grain of salt. In order to partially address these issues CalorieLab’s rankings use a three-year average in order to smooth out statistical fluctuations.

CalorieLab’s United States of Obesity 2014 map is licensed for use by anyone in any media and can be downloaded in two sizes: small JPEG and large JPEG.

The CalorieLab United States of Obesity Fattest States Ranking 2014

2013 Rank	2014 Rank	State	% Obese 2013	% Obese or Overweight 2013	3-year Obesity Average	% Obesity Change	Ranking Change
1	1	Mississippi	35.1	69.3	34.9	0.2	0
3	2	West Virginia	35.1	68.8	33.8	0.8	1
2	3	Louisiana	33.1	67.4	33.7	0.4	-1
5	4	Arkansas	34.6	69.9	33.3	1.2	1
4	5	Alabama	32.4	68.1	32.5	-0.2	-1
6	6	Oklahoma	32.5	67.9	31.9	0.4	0
9	7	Kentucky	33.2	67.3	31.6	0.4	2
6	8	South Carolina	31.7	66.4	31.4	-0.1	-2
8	9	Michigan	31.5	66.2	31.3	-0.1	-1
10	9	Indiana	31.8	67.2	31.3	0.5	1
11	9	Tennessee	33.7	68.4	31.3	0.6	2
12	12	Texas	30.9	66.2	30.2	-0.2	0
16	12	Iowa	31.3	67.0	30.2	0.7	4
12	14	Missouri	30.4	65.5	30.1	-0.3	-2
15	14	Ohio	30.4	65.1	30.1	0.3	1
14	16	Kansas	30.0	65.3	29.8	-0.1	-2
20	17	North Dakota	31.0	67.6	29.5	1.0	3
18	18	North Carolina	29.4	66.1	29.4	0.3	0
19	19	Pennsylvania	30.0	64.5	29.2	0.2	0
17	20	Georgia	30.3	65.7	29.1	-0.1	-3
22	20	Wisconsin	29.8	66.5	29.1	1.0	2
21	22	Nebraska	29.6	65.5	28.9	0.7	-1
22	22	Delaware	31.1	64.6	28.9	0.8	0
24	24	South Dakota	29.9	67.0	28.7	0.7	0
26	25	Maine	28.9	64.9	28.4	0.5	1
24	26	Illinois	29.4	64.7	28.2	0.2	-2
26	27	Maryland	28.3	64.2	28.1	0.2	-1
28	28	Virginia	27.2	64.0	27.9	0.2	0
30	29	Idaho	29.6	65.0	27.8	0.9	1
35	30	Alaska	28.4	66.1	27.2	1.1	5
29	31	Oregon	26.5	59.9	26.8	-0.4	-2
31	31	Washington	27.2	61.5	26.8	0.3	0
32	33	New Hampshire	26.7	61.7	26.7	0.4	-1
32	34	New Mexico	26.4	62.7	26.6	0.3	-2
32	35	Florida	26.4	62.8	26.1	-0.2	-3
36	35	Rhode Island	27.3	64.6	26.1	0.4	1
38	37	Arizona	26.8	61.9	26.0	0.6	1
39	38	Wyoming	27.8	64.4	25.8	0.7	1
37	39	Minnesota	25.5	61.1	25.6	0.0	-2
40	39	Nevada	26.2	64.8	25.6	1.0	1
42	41	Connecticut	25.0	62.6	25.0	0.6	1
42	42	New Jersey	26.3	62.8	24.9	0.5	0
44	43	Vermont	24.7	61.9	24.6	0.3	1
45	44	New York	25.4	61.3	24.5	0.3	1
46	44	Montana	24.6	61.4	24.5	0.4	2
41	46	California	24.1	60.1	24.3	-0.2	-5
47	46	Utah	24.1	59.1	24.3	0.4	1
48	48	Massachusetts	23.6	58.0	23.1	0.0	0
50	49	District of Columbia	22.9	53.8	22.9	0.2	1
49	50	Hawaii	21.8	55.4	22.4	-0.5	-1
51	51	Colorado	21.3	56.4	20.8	-0.1	0
Rankings were computed by CalorieLab based on a three-year average of state-by-state statistics for adult obesity percentages from the CDC’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System database. Obesity is defined as a BMI of 30.0 or over, overweight as a BMI of 25.0 to 29.9.

(CalorieLab staff writer. Research analyst and statistician Robert Weyant contribued to this project.)

Source:- http://calorielab.com/news/2014/05/05/fattest-states-2014/