Fattest State Rankings: Colorado's Dead Last In New List

Colorado is the least-fat state in America, according to a new report. The personal finance site WalletHub ranked each state, as well as Washington, D.C., based on more than two dozen key metrics, including the share of obese and overweight people, sugary drink consumption among adolescents and obesity-related health care costs.

The report mirrored Colorado's place in a Centers For Disease Control study that also put Colorado at the very bottom of a national ranking of states for obesity.

Related: CDC Obesity Map Shows Colorado's Low Overweight Population

In the WalletHub report, released Tuesday, the metrics were incorporated into three categories: obesity and overweight prevalence; health consequences; and food and fitness. Each metric was graded on a scale of 100 points, with a score of 100 representing the fattest state. The authors then calculated each state’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score, which was used to determine the rankings.

Colorado was the least-fattest state in the country, with WalletHub ranking the Centennial State among the healthiest in all three categories, including best for obesity and overweight prevalence. Utah was the second least-fattest, followed by Hawaii, Massachusetts and Washington, D.C.

Here’s how Colorado ranked:

• Total score: 51 (with No. 1 being the fattest state)
• Obesity and overweight prevalence rank: 50
• Health and consequences rank: 48
• Food and fitness rank: 49

According to the CDC, you’re overweight or obese if your weight is higher than what is considered healthy for your height. Body Mass Index, better known as BMI, is used as a screening tool for overweight or obesity. A BMI of 25-30 is classified as overweight and a BMI of 30 or more is obese.
“Fat” is becoming the new normal, the authors said. More than 70 percent of Americans are either overweight or obese, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the rates for kids have increased dramatically in the last few decades. This has led to the country spending nearly $200 billion a year in obesity-related health care costs. If obesity rates continue to increase, more than half of America will be obese within the next 12 years.

WalletHub’s rankings were particularly unfavorable for the South. Each of the fattest states in the rankings fell below the Mason-Dixon Line, which was created in the 1760s to establish the borders of Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware and, eventually, West Virginia.

Mississippi was ranked the fattest state in the country overall, and claimed a spot in the top three for each category. West Virginia and Arkansas rounded out the top three.

Here are the top 10 fattest states and their overall scores:

1. Mississippi, 72.97
2. West Virginia, 70.14
3. Arkansas, 69.69
4. Kentucky, 67.71
5. Tennessee, 67.67
6. Louisiana, 66.89
7. Alabama, 64.56
8. South Carolina, 63.64
9. Oklahoma, 63.09
10. Texas, 62.45

Various factors play a role in obesity, including dietary patterns, physical activity, inactivity, medication use and genetics. The CDC calls it a “serious concern” because it is linked with poor mental health problems, low quality of life and many of the leading causes of death, such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and cancer.

Click here to read more about the methodology.

Related:

Patch national staffer Dan Hampton contributed to this report.

Photo credit: Shutterstock

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