Table 2.
Regional differences in the prevalence (percent) of obesity and overweight in U.S. adolescents (high school students), the 2007 YRBSS data: ranks of states being covered1
| Obesity (BMI ≥ 95th percentile) |
Combined (BMI ≥ 85th percentile) |
|||||||
| Site | Female | Male | Total | Rank2 | Female | Male | Total | Rank2 |
| State surveys | ||||||||
| Alaska | 9.7 | 12.5 | 11.1 | 26 | 24.4 | 30.1 | 27.3 | 18 |
| Arizona | 8.5 | 14.7 | 11.7 | 22 | 20.7 | 30.7 | 25.9 | 25 |
| Arkansas | 9.1 | 18.4 | 13.9 | 9 | 25.9 | 33.2 | 29.7 | 12 |
| Connecticut | 8.2 | 16.2 | 12.3 | 19 | 19.7 | 31.1 | 25.6 | 28 |
| Delaware | 10.9 | 15.6 | 13.3 | 12 | 30.1 | 31.6 | 30.8 | 8 |
| Florida | 6.8 | 15.4 | 11.2 | 25 | 21.9 | 30.7 | 26.4 | 21 |
| Georgia | 11.1 | 16.6 | 13.8 | 10 | 30.0 | 34.1 | 32.0 | 3 |
| Hawaii | 11.3 | 19.4 | 15.6 | 4 | 26.8 | 32.7 | 29.9 | 9 |
| Idaho | 6.4 | 15.5 | 11.1 | 26 | 19.6 | 25.9 | 22.8 | 37 |
| Illinois | 9.9 | 15.9 | 12.9 | 14 | 25.7 | 31.4 | 28.6 | 15 |
| Indiana | 9.9 | 17.8 | 13.8 | 10 | 24.7 | 33.7 | 29.1 | 13 |
| Iowa | 8.8 | 13.7 | 11.3 | 24 | 19.4 | 29.9 | 24.8 | 32 |
| Kansas | 6.8 | 15.2 | 11.1 | 26 | 20.9 | 29.8 | 25.5 | 29 |
| Kentucky | 11.0 | 19.7 | 15.6 | 4 | 26.5 | 37.0 | 32.0 | 3 |
| Maine | 7.6 | 17.5 | 12.8 | 15 | 19.9 | 31.3 | 25.9 | 25 |
| Maryland | 9.2 | 16.7 | 13.1 | 13 | 24.6 | 31.8 | 28.3 | 16 |
| Massachusetts | 7.1 | 14.8 | 11.1 | 26 | 22.3 | 28.9 | 25.7 | 27 |
| Michigan | 9.8 | 15.0 | 12.4 | 17 | 25.4 | 32.3 | 28.9 | 14 |
| Mississippi | 14.7 | 21.2 | 17.9 | 1 | 33.5 | 38.1 | 35.8 | 1 |
| Missouri | 8.6 | 15.3 | 12.0 | 20 | 22.2 | 30.2 | 26.3 | 22 |
| Montana | 6.3 | 13.7 | 10.1 | 35 | 19.2 | 27.5 | 23.4 | 36 |
| Nevada | 7.6 | 14.2 | 11.0 | 31 | 21.5 | 29.3 | 25.5 | 29 |
| New Hampshire | 7.2 | 15.9 | 11.7 | 22 | 20.3 | 31.6 | 26.1 | 24 |
| New Mexico | 6.0 | 15.5 | 10.9 | 32 | 19.8 | 28.7 | 24.4 | 33 |
| New York | 7.6 | 14.1 | 10.9 | 32 | 23.9 | 30.4 | 27.2 | 19 |
| North Carolina | 9.5 | 15.9 | 12.8 | 15 | 26.7 | 32.9 | 29.9 | 9 |
| North Dakota | 8.0 | 11.8 | 10.0 | 36 | 19.2 | 27.8 | 23.7 | 34 |
| Ohio | 8.5 | 16.0 | 12.4 | 17 | 23.1 | 31.4 | 27.4 | 17 |
| Oklahoma | 9.8 | 19.2 | 14.7 | 6 | 26.6 | 32.9 | 29.9 | 9 |
| Rhode Island | 7.5 | 13.8 | 10.7 | 34 | 23.7 | 30.1 | 26.9 | 20 |
| South Carolina | 12.2 | 16.6 | 14.4 | 8 | 31.1 | 31.9 | 31.5 | 6 |
| South Dakota | 7.6 | 10.6 | 9.1 | 38 | 20.0 | 27.1 | 23.6 | 35 |
| Tennessee | 12.0 | 21.6 | 16.9 | 2 | 31.9 | 38.0 | 35.0 | 2 |
| Texas | 11.6 | 19.9 | 15.9 | 3 | 27.4 | 35.4 | 31.5 | 6 |
| Utah | 5.1 | 12.1 | 8.7 | 39 | 15.0 | 25.5 | 20.4 | 39 |
| Vermont | 8.0 | 15.1 | 11.8 | 21 | 21.8 | 30.1 | 26.3 | 22 |
| West Virginia | 11.7 | 17.6 | 14.7 | 6 | 30.7 | 32.6 | 31.7 | 5 |
| Wisconsin | 7.2 | 14.7 | 11.1 | 26 | 19.8 | 30.0 | 25.1 | 31 |
| Wyoming | 6.6 | 11.8 | 9.3 | 37 | 16.6 | 24.5 | 20.7 | 38 |
| Median | 8.5 | 15.5 | 12.0 | 23.3 | 30.8 | 27.0 | ||
| Range | 5.1–14.7 | 10.6–21.6 | 8.7–17.9 | 19.4–33.5 | 25.5–38.1 | 20.4–35.8 | ||
| Ratio3 | 2.9 | 2.0 | 2.1 | 1.7 | 1.5 | 1.8 | ||
| Local survey | ||||||||
| Baltimore, MD | 19.0 | 17.9 | 18.5 | 2 | 40.0 | 36.5 | 38.4 | 3 |
| Boston, MA | 11.7 | 17.2 | 14.5 | 12 | 33.7 | 32.4 | 33.0 | 12 |
| Broward County, FL | 6.5 | 10.2 | 8.4 | 22 | 23.7 | 23.9 | 23.8 | 20 |
| Charlotte-Mecklenburg, NC | 8.9 | 10.7 | 9.8 | 19 | 23.7 | 28.9 | 26.3 | 18 |
| Chicago, IL | 13.6 | 18.0 | 15.8 | 9 | 34.3 | 34.6 | 34.5 | 8 |
| Dallas, TX | 15.7 | 22.9 | 19.3 | 1 | 36.9 | 39.6 | 38.3 | 4 |
| DeKalb County, GA | 13.4 | 12.8 | 13.1 | 13 | 30.3 | 28.6 | 29.4 | 13 |
| Detroit, MI | 17.1 | 19.9 | 18.4 | 3 | 41.7 | 37.7 | 39.7 | 1 |
| District of Columbia | 15.8 | 19.6 | 17.7 | 4 | 35.7 | 35.4 | 35.5 | 7 |
| Hillsborough County, FL | 8.4 | 14.6 | 11.5 | 17 | 21.4 | 28.7 | 25.1 | 19 |
| Houston, TX | 11.5 | 21.7 | 16.7 | 6 | 31.2 | 37.6 | 34.4 | 9 |
| Los Angeles, CA | 11.7 | 20.9 | 16.5 | 7 | 35.8 | 41.3 | 38.7 | 2 |
| Memphis, TN | 13.7 | 19.0 | 16.2 | 8 | 37.0 | 34.7 | 35.9 | 6 |
| Miami-Dade County, FL | 8.9 | 16.8 | 13.0 | 14 | 23.4 | 32.3 | 28.0 | 14 |
| Milwaukee, WI | 15.4 | 20.0 | 17.7 | 4 | 39.6 | 33.8 | 36.7 | 5 |
| New York City, NY | 9.4 | 13.6 | 11.5 | 17 | 27.1 | 28.5 | 27.8 | 15 |
| Orange County, FL | 8.6 | 16.5 | 12.6 | 15 | 23.3 | 30.6 | 27.0 | 17 |
| Palm Beach County, FL | 6.1 | 10.9 | 8.5 | 20 | 17.1 | 24.9 | 21.0 | 21 |
| Philadelphia, PA | 14.1 | 16.6 | 15.2 | 10 | 32.9 | 34.6 | 33.6 | 10 |
| San Bernardino, CA | 12.6 | 17.3 | 15.0 | 11 | 32.4 | 34.1 | 33.3 | 11 |
| San Diego, CA | 6.7 | 17.5 | 12.3 | 16 | 22.9 | 31.6 | 27.4 | 16 |
| San Francisco, CA | 3.7 | 13.0 | 8.5 | 20 | 15.8 | 25.9 | 21 | 21 |
| Median | 11.7 | 17.2 | 14.8 | 30.9 | 32.9 | 32.5 | ||
| Range | 3.7–19.0 | 10.2–22.9 | 8.4–19.3 | 17.1–41.7 | 24.9–41.3 | 21.0–39.7 | ||
| Ratio3 | 5.1 | 2.2 | 2.3 | 2.4 | 1.7 | 1.9 | ||
1
Our analysis was conducted based on results reported in (10).
2
Ranked the states based on the prevalence for both boys and girls, from highest to lowest. Data were available for only 39 states. These were based on self-reported weight and height.
3
Ratio = highest prevalence/lowest prevalence.