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High School

According to the 2021 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS), 16.3% of high school students had obesity and an additional 16% were overweight. The information from YRBSS is based on a survey of participating states and uses self-reported information. State obesity rates among high school students ranged from a low of 10.2% in Utah to a high of 26.9% in West Virginia.

Fast Facts

26.9%
of high school students in West Virginia had obesity, the highest rate of any state.
16.3%
Of high school students nationally had obesity.
29.4%
Of Native American high schoolers had obesity, the highest among all racial and ethnic groups.
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MEMAMIMTNVNJNYNCOHPARITNTXUTWAWIMDALAKAZARCACOCTDEDCFLGAHIIDILINIAKSKYLAMNMSMONENHNMNDOKORSCSDVTVAWVWYDCMDDENJRICTMANHVT
Rank
State
Obesity Rate
Trend 1999 - 2021
1 West Virginia
26.9%
2 Mississippi
23.2%
3 Texas
22.1%
4 New Mexico
20.0%
5 Kentucky
19.6%
6 Arkansas
19.4%
7 Nebraska
19.2%
8 North Carolina
19.0%
9 Ohio
18.8%
10 Louisiana
18.7%
11 Tennessee
18.3%
12 South Carolina
17.9%
13 Indiana
17.6%
13 Oklahoma
17.6%
14 Pennsylvania
17.3%
15 Delaware
17.0%
15 Georgia
17.0%
15 Kansas
17.0%
16 Missouri
16.9%
17 South Dakota
16.6%
18 Florida
16.4%
18 Virginia
16.4%
19 North Dakota
16.3%
20 New York
16.1%
21 Maryland
15.9%
21 Nevada
15.9%
22 Iowa
15.8%
23 Illinois
15.6%
23 Michigan
15.6%
24 Rhode Island
15.5%
25 Connecticut
15.1%
26 Maine
15.0%
27 Arizona
14.9%
27 Hawaii
14.9%
28 Alabama
13.9%
29 New Jersey
13.8%
30 Massachusetts
13.6%
30 Vermont
13.6%
31 Wisconsin
13.5%
32 New Hampshire
13.3%
33 Idaho
11.9%
34 Montana
11.8%
35 Colorado
10.6%
36 Utah
10.2%
Key:
0 - 9.9%
10 - 14.9%
15 - 19.9%
20 - 24.9%
25 - 29.9%
30 - 34.9%
35%+

About this Data

The Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System is a biannual survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For more information, see the Methodology and Data page.

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