According to new data from the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), our country is now seeing some of the highest obesity levels* in history. Every state in America (plus Washington DC) now has an obesity rate over 20%.
They ranked each state according to the percentage of obese people living there.
This heat map shows where the highest number of obese people are concentrated;
Colorado (20.2% obesity rate) and Washington D.C. (22.1% obesity rate) were ranked as the top 2 least-fat states in the country, followed by Hawaii, Montana, and California.
North Carolina was ranked at the #22 spot, fatter than over 60% of the other states. According to the study, “North Carolina has an obesity rate of 34%. Residents aged 45 to 64 have an obesity rate of 35.7%.”
South Carolina was ranked significantly fatter, coming in at #10, with an obesity rate of 35.4%.
Mississipi took the top spot, with an obesity rate of 40.8%.
*”Obese is defined as body mass index (BMI) ≥ 30.0; BMI was calculated from self-reported weight and height (weight [kg]/ height [m²). Respondents reporting weight < 50 pounds or ≥ 650 pounds; height < 3 feet or ≥ 8 feet; or BMI: <12 or ≥ 100 were excluded. Pregnant respondents were also excluded,” according to the CDC.