A National Epidemic
Overweight and Obese from Coast to Coast
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) define obesity through a calculation called the Body Mass Index (BMI), a calculation based on a person’s weight and height that usually correlates closely to the amount of body fat. The CDC considers a person with a BMI of 25.0 to 29.9 to be overweight. Those with a BMI of 30 or more are considered obese.
According to the CDC’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), 24.4 percent of U.S. adults were obese in 2005 (most recent data available). Texas exceeded the national average, with 27.0 percent of its adults considered obese.
According to the CDC, 61.1 percent of all U.S. adults were overweight or obese in 2005. Texas again exceeded the national average, with 64.1 percent of its adults considered overweight or obese. Texas ranked tenth among states in its share of overweight or obese adults (Exhibits 1 and 2).1
Exhibit 2
2005 Nationwide Obesity and Overweight Ranking
| Rank | State | Percent Obese or Overweight | Percent Obese |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mississippi | 67.3% | 30.9% |
| 2 | West Virginia | 65.4% | 30.6% |
| 3 | Kentucky | 64.9% | 28.6% |
| 4 | Arkansas | 64.7% | 28.0% |
| 5 | Louisiana | 64.6% | 30.8% |
| 6 | South Carolina | 64.6% | 29.1% |
| 7 | Alabama | 64.5% | 28.9% |
| 8 | Alaska | 64.2% | 27.4% |
| 9 | North Dakota | 64.2% | 25.4% |
| 10 | Texas | 64.1% | 27.0% |
| 11 | Missouri | 63.9% | 26.9% |
| 12 | Nebraska | 63.2% | 26.0% |
| 13 | Oklahoma | 62.9% | 26.8% |
| 14 | Delaware | 62.9% | 23.5% |
| 15 | Georgia | 62.9% | 26.5% |
| 16 | South Dakota | 62.8% | 25.5% |
| 17 | North Carolina | 62.6% | 25.9% |
| 18 | Iowa | 62.5% | 25.4% |
| 19 | Michigan | 62.5% | 26.2% |
| 20 | Ohio | 62.4% | 24.3% |
| 21 | Indiana | 62.3% | 27.2% |
| 22 | Tennessee | 62.3% | 27.4% |
| 23 | Pennsylvania | 62.9% | 25.3% |
| 24 | Wyoming | 62.6% | 24.2% |
| 25 | Wisconsin | 62.5% | 24.4% |
| Rank | State | Percent Obese or Overweight | Percent Obese |
|---|---|---|---|
| 26 | Idaho | 62.3% | 24.5% |
| 27 | Virginia | 61.2% | 25.1% |
| 28 | Maryland | 61.1% | 24.4% |
| n/a | National Average | 61.1% | 24.4% |
| 29 | Minnesota | 60.9% | 23.7% |
| 30 | Illinois | 60.8% | 25.1% |
| 31 | Kansas | 60.8% | 23.9% |
| 32 | Florida | 60.7% | 22.8% |
| 33 | California | 60.6% | 22.7% |
| 34 | New Mexico | 60.3% | 21.7% |
| 35 | New Hampshire | 59.9% | 23.1% |
| 36 | New York | 59.8% | 22.2% |
| 37 | Oregon | 59.7% | 23.8% |
| 38 | Maine | 59.6% | 22.7% |
| 39 | Washington | 59.4% | 23.3% |
| 40 | New Jersey | 59.2% | 22.1% |
| 41 | Rhode Island | 59.2% | 21.0% |
| 42 | Nevada | 58.8% | 21.2% |
| 43 | Connecticut | 58.2% | 20.1% |
| 44 | Montana | 57.5% | 21.3% |
| 45 | Arizona | 56.2% | 21.1% |
| 46 | Utah | 56.2% | 21.2% |
| 47 | Massachusetts | 56.1% | 20.7% |
| 48 | Vermont | 55.8% | 20.2% |
| 49 | District of Columbia | 55.0% | 21.7% |
| 50 | Colorado | 54.5% | 17.8% |
| 51 | Hawaii | 53.0% | 19.7% |
Source: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Prevalence: Percentage of Obese Texans, 1990-2005
During the past 15 years, the share of Texans at a normal weight declined rapidly, while the percentage of obese Texans increased. According to the CDC, 12.3 percent of adult Texans were obese in 1990, while 57.1 percent were at a normal weight. By 2005, 27.0 percent of Texans were obese and only 35.9 percent were at a normal weight. This equates to a 119.5 percent increase in the percentage of adult Texans who were obese, and a 37.1 percent drop in the percentage of normal-weight adults (Exhibit 3).
In 2005, there were nearly 3 million more obese adults in Texas than in 1990. There were 1.5 million obese Texas adults in 1990, while in 2005 there were 4.5 million, nearly a
200 percent
increase over 15 years.
Demographics
According to the CDC’s 2005 BRFSS, 37.1 percent of adult Texans were overweight and another 27.0 percent of adult Texans were obese.2 The demographic breakdowns behind these numbers further illustrate the prevalence of the obesity epidemic.
Gender
Men are more likely to be overweight or obese than women. In 2005, 72.4 percent of Texas males were overweight or obese, compared to 55.6 percent of females (Exhibit 4).
Age
In 2005, more than half (53.3 percent) of Texans aged 18 to 29 were overweight or obese. Those aged 30 to 44 were much more likely to be overweight or obese, with a prevalence of 67.3 percent. Those 45 to 64 were heavier still; 71.3 percent were overweight or obese (Exhibit 5).
Ethnicity
Ethnicity matters, too. In 2005, white Texans were healthiest, and still 60.1 percent were overweight or obese. Seventy-one percent of Hispanics were overweight or obese. Blacks were the most likely ethnic group to be overweight or obese, with 75.7 percent falling into one category or the other (Exhibit 6).
Educational Level
The more educated you are, the less likely you are to be overweight or obese. In 2005, adult Texans with no high school diploma were the most likely to be overweight or obese, at 67.8 percent, followed by those with a high school diploma at 67.0 percent, those with some college education at 63.4 percent and college graduates at 59.9 percent (Exhibit 7).
Income Level
Weight also varies slightly by income level. In 2005, 66.4 percent of adult Texans making $25,000 per year or less were overweight or obese, as were 65.5 percent of those making between $25,000 and $49,999 and 63.9 percent of those making $50,000 per year or more (Exhibit 8).
Geography
Geographic location also plays a role in how much a Texan is likely to weigh. Certain regions in Texas have a much higher prevalence of obesity than others.
The Texas Department of State Health Services divides the state into a series of public health administrative regions. The West Texas and Upper Rio Grande regions (regions 9 and 10) and the Central Texas region (region 7) had the state’s lowest obesity rates in 2005, at 22.8 percent for regions 9 and 10 and 23.4 percent for Central Texas. The Upper South Texas region (region 8) and Lower South Texas region (region 11), by contrast, had the highest rates of obesity, at 31.1 percent and 37.4 percent respectively (Exhibit 9).3 In addition, 30.9 percent of adults in Texas’ Border counties were obese in 2005, compared to just 26.8 percent of adults in other counties.4
Certain cities are particularly prone to obesity as well. The Austin-Round Rock metropolitan statistical area (MSA) was the state’s “skinniest” in 2005, with 55.1 percent of its adults being overweight or obese (18.1 percent obese and 37.0 percent overweight). The San Antonio MSA, by contrast, had the highest prevalence, with 66.4 percent of its adults being overweight (37.2 percent) or obese (29.2 percent) (Exhibit 10).5
Exhibit 10
Overweight and Obesity in Texas Adults, by Metropolitan Statistical Area 2005
| MSA | Overweight | Obese | Overweight and Obese |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Antonio | 37.2 | 29.2 | 66.4 |
| Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown | 39.7 | 25.9 | 65.6 |
| El Paso | 39.1 | 23.4 | 62.5 |
| Fort Worth-Arlington MD | 37.0 | 24.3 | 61.3 |
| Dallas-Plano-Irving MD | 33.2 | 26.7 | 59.9 |
| Austin-Round Rock | 37.0 | 18.1 | 55.1 |
Sources: Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Endnotes
- U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Weight Classifications Based on BMI,” http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/brfss/list.asp?cat=DE&yr=2005&qkey=4409&state=AL (Last visited February 9, 2007.)
- Texas Department of State Health Services, “Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System: Data Table Lookup,” http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/chs/brfss/query/brfss_form.shtm (Last visited March 5, 2007.)
- Texas Department of State Health Services, “Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System: Data Table Lookup.”
- Texas Department of State Health Services, “Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System: Data Table Lookup.”
- Texas Department of State Health Services, “Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System: Data Table Lookup.”