We know that states in the south lead the nation’s obesity problem, so it’s no surprise that Mississippi and Georgia also have the highest rates of obese children. According to date collected by the National Survey of Children’s Health in 2024, 20 percent of more of children eight U.S. states are obese.
A child is considered obese when he or she is in the 95th percentile of the body mass index, which uses heights and weights established in the 1960s. Slate created an interactive map that shows the rates of obese children by state.
Mississippi has the most obese children, with a percentage of 21.9. Georgia had a rate of 21.3 percent, Kentucky had 21 percent, Louisiana had 20.7 percent and Texas had 20.4 percent. However, even states with comparatively lower childhood obesity are almost all in the double digits. Oregon is the exception, with a rate of 9.6.
Visit the interactive map on Slate to see how the rest of the states compare.
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