The future of the U.S. financial services sector depends, heavily, on what Americans weigh. Weight influences whether prospects can get life insurance, what health insurers' earnings will look like, and how much cash Medicare and Medicaid will need to pull from the economy to support their operations. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) classifies adults as being obese if they have a body mass index, or BMI, of 30 or greater. For an adult standing 5 feet 9 inches tall, for example, that BMI range translates into a weight of 203 pounds or more. One source of state obesity data is the CDC's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey program.

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Government policymakers tend to focus on the needs of low-income people. When you're thinking about prospects, and current clients, you may prefer to focus on the people who are most likely to be able to afford to pay for financial services prospects: the people with some money. Here, in the data card gallery above, is a look at the five states where the percentage of relatively high-earning adults, or those with a household income of $50,000 or higher, increased the most between 2013 BRFSS survey and the 2018 survey. (Wiggle your pointer ove the first slide to make the control arrows show up.) For data on all 50 states and the District of Columbia, see the table below. .

Obesity
The percentage of adults, with annual household income over $50,000, who appear to be obese.
The CDC behavioral risk survey team defines "obesity" as meaning that an individual has a body mass index over 30. The survey team calculates each BRFSS survey participant's BMI using the height and weight information provided by the participant.
Location 2013 2018

Change, in percentage points
Alabama 30.5 34.6 4.1
Alaska 28.7 29.6 0.9
Arizona 23.8 25.9 2.1
Arkansas 30.3 36.0 5.7
California 21.3 22.9 1.6
Colorado 19.4 22.6 3.2
Connecticut 21.6 26.0 4.4
Delaware 29.3 32.8 3.5
District of Columbia 15 17.9 2.9
Florida 24.6 29.7 5.1
Georgia 28.1 30.5 2.4
Guam 30.7 34.5 3.8
Hawaii 21.8 24.0 2.2
Idaho 26.4 27.4 1.0
Illinois 25.8 29.6 3.8
Indiana 29.4 34.5 5.1
Iowa 30.2 33.8 3.6
Kansas 27.9 33.7 5.8
Kentucky 30.7 35.6 4.9
Louisiana 30 35.2 5.2
Maine 26.2 27.8 1.6
Maryland 26.6 29.6 3.0
Massachusetts 21.3 25.0 3.7
Michigan 29 30.9 1.9
Minnesota 24.7 29.1 4.4
Mississippi 31.4 38.0 6.6
Missouri 29.6 34.0 4.4
Montana 23.6 27.2 3.6
Nebraska 27.8 32.6 4.8
Nevada 24.4 29.1 4.7
New Hampshire 25.2 27.4 2.2
New Jersey 25.3 25.4 0.1
New Mexico 23.9 31.4 7.5
New York 22.1 25.8 3.7
North Carolina 25.6 32.3 6.7
North Dakota 29.2 35.3 6.1
Ohio 28 34.3 6.3
Oklahoma 32.5 34.2 1.7
Oregon 25.4 28.7 3.3
Pennsylvania 28 30.2 2.2
Puerto Rico 29.6 35.1 5.5
Rhode Island 24.8 24.2 -0.7
South Carolina 29.1 31.0 1.9
South Dakota 31.5 29.4 -2.1
Tennessee 30.3 33.3 3.0
Texas 26.8 33.6 6.8
Utah 23.4 27.8 4.4
Vermont 23.1 26.1 3.0
Virginia 24.9 29.2 4.3
Washington 25 28.3 3.3
West Virginia 35.9 38.6 2.7
Wisconsin 28.4 30.4 2.0
Wyoming 27.1 29.4 2.3
MEDIAN 26.8 29.7 3.6
. — Read 10 States Where Stroke May Hurt Your Sales, on ThinkAdvisor. — Connect with ThinkAdvisor Life/Health on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
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