"In 2012, by comparison, not a single state had an adult obesity rate over 35 percent."

America's Obesity Problem Is Getting Even Worse

Six states in particular—Iowa, Ohio, Oklahoma, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and South Carolina—had their adult obesity rate increase from 2016 to 2017. Seven states—Alabama, Arkansas, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and West Virginia—had an adult obesity rate over 35 percent, while 22 states had a rate hovering between 30 and 35 percent. West Virginia had the highest obesity rate among adults, at 38.1 percent. Only two states, Hawaii and Colorado, had an adult obesity rate lower than 25 percent of adults.

In 2012, by comparison, not a single state had an adult obesity rate over 35 percent.