Every new year, many people make resolutions to lose weight. In honor of this fact, here is the list of states that have a little bit more work to do in the waitsline department. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has compiles data on obesity rates throughout America and the following is a list of the states with the highest proportion of obese adults.

State health departments use standard procedures to collect data through a series of monthly telephone interviews with U.S. adults. Obesity is determined by using height and weight information to calculate a number called the “body mass index” (BMI). An adult who has a BMI of 30 or higher is considered obese. The following states have the highest percentage of the adult population who are obese with the percent in parentheses.

The top 10 fattest states in America are:

1. Mississippi (32% of adults are obese)
2. Alabama (30.3%)
3. Tennessee (30.1%)
4. Louisiana (29.8%)
5. West Virginia (29.5%)
6. Arkansas (28.7%)
7. South Carolina (28.4%)
8. Georgia (28.2%)
9. Oklahoma (28.1%)
10. Texas (28.1%)

For information on how to achieve and maintain a healthy weight, see the Healia Health Guide on Weight Management. If you have questions about your weight and how it affects your health, or to find support from others who are also struggling with weight management, join the Healia Health Community on Obesity and Overweight.


_{Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Survey Data. Atlanta, Georgia: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, [2007].}

_{Photo: alexstaubo, Flickr, Creative Commons}