The Most Obese States: How Much Does Your Zip Code Matter to Your Health?

America has an obesity problem: according to current diagnostic criteria – the body’s mass index – three -quarters of adults in the United States are overweight or obese. And the most recent data of the World Health Organization classified the United States (with an obesity rate of 42.9%) in n ° 18 on the list of the most obese countries in the world. So, what is the zoom further on the map-and looking at the ventilation of the least and the most obese American states-has it contributed to us? In short, these rankings are a better quality health care indicator (or their absence) than individual health.

“We know that states that have fewer services for families, higher income disparities and less access to food and safe places to exercise, are often correlated with greater body size,” explains Lisa Erlanger, MD, family doctor certified by the board of directors, clinical professor of family medicine at the University of Washington Medicine. And “if we make all of these biggest people smaller – with drugs, for example – we” solve these other problems that have a much more direct impact on health, well -being and longevity “.

So, living in the most obese state (spoiler alert, it is virginie-Western, with an obesity rate of 41.2%) doesn’t This means that you are an intrinsically “unhealthy” person – it means that your access to quality health care and healthy foods is more likely to be limited. (Indeed, Virginia-Western is classified n ° 49 in the overall quality of health care, n ° 50 in public health results and # 30 in access to health care according to an analysis of US News and World Report. And a study places Virginia-Western # 45 on the list of healthy state diet, which is determined by factors such as food insecurity and consumption of fruits and vegetables.)

So how does your state accumulate?

The most obese states of the United States

Here is an alphabetical list which includes each American state – more, DC and three American territories (Guam, Puerto Rico and the American Virgin Islands) – and the obesity rate in each, on the basis of the most recent data of Centers for Disease Control. (A missing obesity rate indicates that insufficient data has been shared.) Numbers are based on the behavioral risk factor monitoring system (BRFSS), which is a current survey carried out by CDC and state health services using auto -declared data.

So what does that mean for you?

No matter where you live, Erlanger encourages patients to find inclusive medical experts. The right health care team will focus on your overall health and prevent and treat disease – rather than making weight loss is all and final. She also suggests prioritizing the movement: “whatever its impact on weight, recreational physical activity has a very direct impact on health, well-being and longevity,” explains Erlanger.