Nationally, the country is gaining weight. Locally, North Dakota is gaining more around the waistline in comparison with other states in the country. The latest data was collected by the Gallup Group.

A quick overview of the results shows that Hawaii is the least obese and Mississippi is the most obese state in the country. In 2014, Hawaii was the only state where fewer than one in five residents are obese. Hawaii's obese rate is the lowest at 19%. Mississippi had the highest obesity rate in the nation for the past 2 years, (2013-2014) at 35.2%. Nationally the obesity rate climbed to 27.7%.

Locally, North Dakota had the following results in ranking- (ranking of 1 being the best)

  • 2008- 34th
  • 2009 - 28th
  • 2010 - 33rd
  • 2011 - 37th
  • 2012 - 32nd
  • 2013 - 24th
  • 2014 - 32nd

The obesity rate in NoDak is in the 25- 29.9 % category. Other states in this group include Wyoming, Nebraska and Illinois. The methodology use was-

These data are based on 176,702 interviews with U.S. adults across all 50 states, conducted from January 2 to December 30, 2014. Gallup conducts 500 telephone interviews a day with American adults, for a resulting sample that projects to an estimated 95 percent of all U.S. adults. The Well-Being Index is calculated on a scale of 0 to 100, where zero represents the lowest possible well-being and 100 represents the highest possible well-being. These data are collected as part of the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, and are based on respondents’ self-reported height and weight, which are used to calculate Body Mass Index (BMI) scores. Americans who have a body mass index of 30 or higher are classified as obese.

Next door in Montana, that state has been in the top 10 healthiest states,  6 out of the last 10 years.

China Photos / Getty Images
China Photos / Getty Images
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You can get the complete results here.

 

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