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---
title: Obesity in America: See Changes by State Over 25 Years
description: After 25 years of steady increases, obesity rates are down in four states, and mostly stable elsewhere, according to a new report.
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author: David Johnson
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article:published_time: 2016-09-01T21:58:28.000Z
article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T00:21:47.263Z
article:section: Health
og:title: See How America Has Gotten More Obese in the Past 25 Years
og:description: Obesity rates have grown dramatically in the past couple of decades
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twitter:description: Obesity rates have grown dramatically in the past couple of decades
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# See How America Has Gotten More Obese in the Past 25 Years

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by 

[David Johnson](https://time.com/author/dave-johnson/)


## David Johnson


Sep 1, 2016 9:58 PM UTC

by 

[David Johnson](https://time.com/author/dave-johnson/)


## David Johnson


Sep 1, 2016 9:58 PM UTC

After 25 years of steady increases, obesity rates are [down in four states](http://time.com/4475882/obesity-rates-by-state/), and mostly stable elsewhere. Kansas and Kentucky were the only two states with increases in the past year, according to a [new report](http://stateofobesity.org/adult-obesity/) based on federal data.

While rates have plateaued in some places, researchers said they are still alarmingly high, with wide disparities from one part of the country to another. In Southeastern states, like Louisiana and Mississippi, more than 1 in 3 people were obese in 2015\. But in Colorado, only 1 in 5 people were obese, with similar rates in neighboring West Coast states. In both areas, rates have more than doubled since 1990.

Use the timeline to see data in five-year intervals.

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