Understanding Obesity and Diabetes Trends Across the U.S.

Despite widespread gains in measures of coverage and providers tracked by America’s Health Rankings — the uninsured rate and number of primary care providers — the prevalence of some health outcomes like diabetes and obesity have worsened.

The graphic below illustrates the increase in obesity prevalence across all states, using data from the past several decades. As the colors change, they correspond to the prevalence of obesity indicated in the legend below the map.

Between 2011 and 2023, obesity increased 23%, from 27.8% to 34.3% of adults.

The prevalence increased in all 48 states with 2023 data; the largest increases were: 34% in New Mexico (26.3% to 35.3%) and 33% in both Wyoming (25.0% to 33.3%) and Illinois (27.1% to 36.0%).^*

At the same time, the prevalence of diabetes increased 21%, from 9.5% to 11.5% of adults.

Obesity rates varied by race/ethnicity, geography and disability status and other demographic groups in 2023, and diabetes rates varied by income and education and other demographic groups.

The prevalence of obesity was 3.1 times higher among Black (42.0%) than Asian (13.4%) adults, 1.7 times higher in West Virginia (41.2%) than Colorado (24.9%), and 1.4 times higher among adults with less than a high school education (38.5%) and high school graduates (38.4%) than college graduates (27.9%).

Among those with an annual household income less than $25,000 (21.2%), the prevalence of diabetes was 2.4 times higher compared with those with incomes of $75,000 or more (9.0%). In addition, the prevalence was 2.3 times higher among adults with less than a high school education (21.2%) compared with college graduates (9.2%).

Obesity and diabetes are linked to premature death and carry significant economic costs, including higher health care spending and lost productivity

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Obesity is a complex health condition

with biological, economic, environmental, individual and societal causes. Adults who have obesity are more likely to have a decreased quality of life and an increased risk of developing serious health conditions

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Diabetes was the nation’s eighth-leading cause of  death

in 2022, accounting for more than 100,000 deaths annually. People with diabetes are twice as likely

to have heart disease or a stroke than those without diabetes. Currently, 38.1 million

adults are estimated to have diabetes, with 8.7 million of them undiagnosed.

These trends in obesity and diabetes prevalence reinforce the need for data-driven insights and targeted solutions.

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