For the first time in more than a decade, the number of states with adult obesity rates of 35% or higher has dropped — a rare glimmer of progress in America’s long-running fight against obesity.
According to an analysis released on Thursday by the Trust for America’s Health (TFAH), which used Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data, 19 states reported obesity rates of 35% or higher in 2024, down from 23 states the previous year.
Obesity Rates Show Early Signs of Improvement
The findings come on the heels of a CDC report showing that while the nation’s overall obesity rate remains high — affecting around 40% of U.S. adults — it has largely stabilized.
Still, Dr. J. Nadine Gracia, TFAH president and CEO, cautioned that the improvement is not yet a confirmed trend. “While the decline is positive, it’s too soon to call it a trend,” she said, warning that federal funding cuts and public health layoffs could undermine this momentum.
A U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) spokesperson echoed cautious optimism, saying the administration is “encouraged by the new data showing progress in the fight against obesity.”
“We are restructuring public health programs to eliminate waste, reduce bureaucracy, and redirect resources toward real prevention,” said HHS spokesman Andrew Nixon in an email statement.
Which States Are Seeing the Biggest Changes
Data from the CDC’s 2024 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System — a nationwide annual telephone survey — revealed wide disparities across states.
- 19 states had obesity rates of 35% or higher.
- 22 states reported rates between 30% and 35%.
- Nine states recorded rates below 30%.
Obesity prevalence ranged from a low of 25% in Colorado to a high of over 40% in West Virginia.
While no states saw statistically significant changes in their obesity rates between 2023 and 2024, that stability marked a shift after five years of steady increases across 18 states.
Before 2013, no U.S. state had an adult obesity rate exceeding 35%. By 2019, 12 states had surpassed that threshold, and the number continued to climb until this year.
Possible Factors Behind the Decline
Public health experts say the decline could be influenced by multiple factors — including new anti-obesity medications and expanded nutrition support programs introduced during the pandemic.
Aviva Musicus, science director at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, suggested that weight-loss drugs like Wegovy and Zepbound, which suppress appetite and slow digestion, may now be impacting national health data.
Others point to policy-driven health programs. “The report would argue that some of these interventions may actually be successful,” said Solveig Cunningham, a global health expert at Emory University who was not involved in the study. “That would suggest that there are possibly ways in which we could prevent obesity at the population level, which would be a really, really big deal.”
Obesity’s Continuing Toll
Despite the modest improvement, obesity remains one of the most serious chronic diseases in the United States, linked to heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and certain cancers.
In adults, obesity is defined as having a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 or higher, calculated based on height and weight.
Public health leaders warn that maintaining the current momentum will require sustained investment in prevention, education, and community health programs — all areas now facing budgetary strain.
