Ohio makes top 10 states with highest rate of obesity

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH/Stacker) -- Ohio is among the top 10 states for the highest population with a weight classifying them as obese.

Obesity affects 33.9% of people in the U.S., according to the latest 2021 statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The agency broke down the problem, showing obesity's tightest hold was on low-income and uneducated minorities, revealing a correlation between one's body mass index (BMI) and socioeconomic status.

In a previous Stacker ranking referencing 2006–2016 data from the CDC's National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network, Ohio sat at 19 out of 50 states ranked. Every state and Washington D.C. has a higher obesity percentage than they did 10 years ago, the CDC found. With new data from 2021, NBC4 updated the list to find that Ohio had jumped 10 slots.

View the list of top 10 states with the highest obesity rates below:

#10. Missouri

- 2016 obesity rate: 31.7%
- 2021 obesity rate: 37.2%

#9. Ohio

- 2016 obesity rate: 31.5%
- 2021 obesity rate: 37.8%

#8. South Dakota

- 2016 obesity rate: 29.6%
- 2021 obesity rate: 38.4%

#7. Louisiana

- 2016 obesity rate: 35.5%
- 2021 obesity rate: 38.6%

#6. Arkansas

- 2016 obesity rate: 35.7%
- 2021 obesity rate: 38.6%

#5. Mississippi

- 2016 obesity rate: 37.3%
- 2021 obesity rate: 39.1%

#4. Oklahoma

- 2016 obesity rate: 32.8%
- 2021 obesity rate: 39.4%

#3. Alabama

- 2016 obesity rate: 35.7%
- 2021 obesity rate: 39.9%

#2. Kentucky

- 2016 obesity rate: 34.2%
- 2021 obesity rate: 40.3%

#1. West Virginia

- 2016 obesity rate: 37.7%
- 2021 obesity rate: 40.6%