The map above compares obesity rates in US states with those in European countries.
The map is on the latest 2024 data for US states from World Population Review here and European countries from World Health Organisation (WHO) data here.
Here are the full 2024 numbers:
- West Virginia is the fattest state/country with an obesity rate of 40.60%
- Romania is now the fattest European country with an obesity rate of 38.24%
- DC has the lowest obesity rate in the US at 24.7%, but 19 European countries have even lower rates.
- France had the lowest rate of all at 10.92%
| Country/State | Obesity Rate |
|---|---|
| West Virginia | 40.60% |
| Kentucky | 40.30% |
| Alabama | 39.90% |
| Oklahoma | 39.40% |
| Mississippi | 39.10% |
| Georgia | 38.94% |
| Arkansas | 38.70% |
| Louisiana | 38.60% |
| South Dakota | 38.40% |
| Romania | 38.24% |
| Ohio | 37.70% |
| Hungary | 36.40% |
| Iowa | 36.40% |
| Indiana | 36.30% |
| South Carolina | 36.10% |
| Texas | 36.10% |
| Kansas | 36.00% |
| North Carolina | 36.00% |
| Nebraska | 35.90% |
| Croatia | 35.65% |
| North Dakota | 35.20% |
| Tennessee | 35.00% |
| Malta | 34.62% |
| New Mexico | 34.60% |
| Michigan | 34.40% |
| Missouri | 34.40% |
| Maryland | 34.30% |
| Turkey | 34.26% |
| Virginia | 34.20% |
| Illinois | 34.10% |
| Delaware | 33.90% |
| Georgia | 33.90% |
| Wisconsin | 33.90% |
| Greece | 33.68% |
| Alaska | 33.50% |
| Pennsylvania | 33.30% |
| United States | 32.62% |
| Minnesota | 32.40% |
| Wyoming | 32.00% |
| Maine | 31.90% |
| Montana | 31.80% |
| Idaho | 31.60% |
| Poland | 31.41% |
| Czech Republic | 31.30% |
| Arizona | 31.30% |
| Nevada | 31.30% |
| Lithuania | 31.14% |
| Utah | 30.90% |
| Ireland | 30.84% |
| North Macedonia | 30.65% |
| New Hampshire | 30.60% |
| Connecticut | 30.40% |
| Oregon | 30.40% |
| Slovakia | 30.28% |
| Rhode Island | 30.10% |
| Latvia | 29.81% |
| Ukraine | 29.20% |
| New York | 29.10% |
| Vermont | 29.00% |
| Washington | 28.80% |
| United Kingdom | 28.71% |
| New Jersey | 28.20% |
| Russia | 28.05% |
| Florida | 28.00% |
| Armenia | 27.87% |
| California | 27.60% |
| Azerbaijan | 27.50% |
| Massachusetts | 27.40% |
| Portugal | 27.06% |
| Estonia | 26.67% |
| Albania | 26.58% |
| Belarus | 26.55% |
| Serbia | 26.05% |
| Moldova | 25.65% |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 25.47% |
| Cyprus | 25.11% |
| Colorado | 25.10% |
| Hawaii | 25.00% |
| District of Columbia | 24.70% |
| Bulgaria | 24.25% |
| Germany | 24.16% |
| Finland | 23.70% |
| Iceland | 22.59% |
| Slovenia | 22.20% |
| Belgium | 22.00% |
| Italy | 21.55% |
| Montenegro | 21.05% |
| Andorra | 20.47% |
| Luxembourg | 20.21% |
| Norway | 19.77% |
| Kazakhstan | 19.34% |
| Spain | 19.17% |
| Austria | 17.04% |
| Netherlands | 16.91% |
| Sweden | 16.41% |
| Denmark | 14.30% |
| Switzerland | 13.74% |
| France | 10.92% |
And here are the maps in a bit more detail:
US Obesity Rate By State 2024
European Obesity Rate By Country 2024
Maps made using datawrapper.de.
Which country surprises you the most? For me it has to be Romania, which now has a higher obesity rate than the US average.
Jenna says
Can you show this over time?