The 10 fattest states in the nation

We’re not getting any younger. And, apparently, we’re not getting any skinnier, either.

Adult obesity rates rose sharply in half a dozen states last year, according to the report “The State of Obesity: Better Policies for a Healthier America,” from the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Despite obesity rates slowing somewhat, no state actually gained ground in the country’s fight against obesity, the report noted.

Racial and economic disparities persist, with minority obesity rates outpacing whites, while lower incomes see higher rates of obesity over their better compensated counterparts. So much for the myth of success showing up on the waistline.

See also: Obesity can cut lifespan by 14 years

According to the authors of the report, “Twenty states have rates at or above 30 percent, 43 states have rates of at least 25 percent and every state is above 20 percent.”

So what are the nation’s fattest states? Well, most are still below the Mason-Dixon line, and all but one is a Southern state. In honor of football season, we’ll illustrate each state with their respective football collegiate team.

10. South Carolina (31.7%)

“South Carolina’s adult obesity rate is 31.7 percent, up from 25.1 percent in 2004 and from 12 percent in 1990,” according to the report. The state’s most obese residents are women and between the ages of 45-64.

See also: America’s 5 least fit cities

(AP Photo/Rainier Ehrhardt)

9. Indiana (31.8%)

Indiana’s adult obesity rate is 31.8 percent, up from 25.2 percent in 2004 and 13.3 percent in 1990. More than a third of the state’s residents have hypertension.

See also: Obesity a growing worldwide epidemic

(AP Photo/Joe Raymond)

8. Alabama (32.4%)

Alabama’s adult obesity rate is 32.4 percent, up from 27.7 percent in 2004 and from 11.2 percent in 1990. And more than 17 percent of the state’s high school students are already obese, making it one of the worst in the country. Worse still, the state’s got the highest rate of Type 2 diabetes in the country.

See also: Obesity rate reaches new high

(AP Photo/John Bazemore)

7. Oklahoma (32.5%)

Oklahoma’s another state where the adult obesity rate more or less held steady with a rate of 32.5 percent. That is up, however, from 24.1 percent in 2004 and 10.3 percent in 1990. More than a third of the men and nearly 40 percent of blacks in this Southern state are obese.

See also: 1 in 8 kids obese by kindergarten

(AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

6. Louisiana (33.1%)

Louisiana’s long been a poster child for obesity, which may or may not be a fair brand. Either way, more than a third of the state’s adult population is obese, which is up from 25.8 percent in 2004 and from 12.3 percent in 1990. It’s also one of the worst state’s for the 10- to 17-year-old set, with more than 21 percent of them already obese.

See also: Top 10 unhealthiest states

(AP Photo/Jonathan Bachman)

5. Kentucky (33.2%)

The Bluegrass State is yet another Southern state saddled with a fat rap. Nearly 40 percent of the state’s adults suffer hyperstension, and it’s the worst in the country for high schoolers, with 18 percent of them obese. Overall, the adult obesity rate is 33.2 percent, up from 25.3 percent in 2004 and from 12.7 percent in 1990.

See also: U.S. obesity rate on the rise

(AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)

4. Tennessee (33.7%)

Tennessee is one of six states where obesity rates increased last year, with an adult obesity rate of 33.7 percent, up from 25.6 percent in 2004 and from 11.1 percent in 1990. Alaska, Delaware, Idaho, New Jersey, Tennessee and Wyoming all shared the dubious distinction of increased obesity rates last year.

(AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

3. Arkansas (34.6%)

Arkansas’s adult obesity rate is 34.6 percent, up from 25.0 percent in 2004 and from 17.0 percent in 1995. It’s also the second worst state for high schoolers – just behind Kentucky – at 17.8 percent.

(AP Photo/Butch Dill)

1. (tie) Mississippi and West Virginia (35.1%)

Not sure if there’s room, but there’s a tie for the most obese states in the union. Both Mississippi and West Virginia tip the scales at more than 35 percent – the first to ever do so.

Oddly enough, Mississippi has the country’s largest percentage of fruit and vegetable eaters, despite having the most obese 10- to 17-year-olds.

West Virginia, on the other hand, boasts the nation’s highest hypertension rate, at 41 percent, along with the second-highest instance of Type 2 diabetes.

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(AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

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