Over 70 million adults in U.S. are obese

With November being National Diabetes Awareness Month and obesity leading to nearly $200 billion in U.S. health care costs each year, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2020’s Most Overweight & Obese States in America.

Do you think Californians are obese? Check out the list below.

Over 70 million adults in U.S. are obese (35 million men and 35 million women). 99 million are overweight (45 million women and 54 million men, according to the National Health Interview Survey,

To determine which states contribute the most to America’s overweight and obesity problem, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 31 key metrics. They range from share of overweight and obese population to sugary-beverage consumption among adolescents to obesity-related health care costs.

Here are some highlights from each report:

20 Most Overweight & Obese States

1. West Virginia
2. Mississippi
3. Arkansas
4. Kentucky
5. Tennessee
6. South Carolina
7. Louisiana
8. Alabama
9. Oklahoma
10. Missouri
11. Iowa
12. Indiana
13. Delaware
14. Ohio
15. Texas
16. Maine
17. Georgia
18. Virginia
19. Kansas
20. North Dakota

Why does it matter?

Being overweight or obese increases the chances of developing the common type of diabetes, type 2 diabetes.

Diabetes Facts & Statistics in 2020 

  • $294.6 Billion: Estimated medical cost of diabetes in the U.S. in 2019.
  • $9,506: Average annual diabetes-related health care costs for patients.
  • 2.3: Number of times by which a diabetes patient’s health care costs increase.
  • 14 & 18 Years: Reduction in the average male and female type 1 diabetes patient’s life expectancy, respectively.
  • 88 million: Number of American adults who have “prediabetes” (84% of them don’t know they have it).
  • 70%: Chances of developing diabetes if both your parents have type 2 diabetes.

To view the full report and your state or the District’s rank, click here.

For the full infographic, click here.

 

Image Sources

  • Obese: Shutterstock