Share of obese high school students in the U.S. by state 2017

In 2017, almost 22 percent of high school students in the state of Arkansas were obese, making it the state with the highest share of obese high school students that year. Colorado and Utah had the lowest obesity percentages among students that year.

Adult obesity per state

While Arkansas had the highest rate of obese high school students in 2017, West Virginia had the highest percentage of obese adults in 2018, which was about 38 percent. In terms of obesity rates, Mississippi and Oklahoma stood in second and third place, while Arkansas stood in seventh place with approximately 35 percent.

Body image among college students

In the fall of 2018, just over half of U.S. college students (18 years and older) described their weight as “about the right weight”. Roughly a third of the respondents stated that they were slightly overweight, while just under six percent said they were very overweight. Within the same measured period, roughly 36 percent of college students in the United States rated their health as very good. Only 2 percent of this group rated their general health as poor.