Obesity statistics 2026: US adult and child obesity rates by age, sex, state and cost

of US adults age 20 and older had obesity (BMI 30 or higher) in August 2021 to August 2023¹

Based on measured height and weight in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).

of US adults had severe obesity (BMI 40 or higher) in August 2021 to August 2023¹

The age-adjusted figure is 9.7%.

of US adults age 20 and older had overweight but not obesity in August 2021 to August 2023 (age-adjusted)²

US adults had obesity in 2017 to March 2020, when prevalence was 41.9%³

CDC also estimates more than 22 million adults had severe obesity in that period.

of US adults ages 20 to 74 had obesity in 1960 to 1962 (age-adjusted)²

Early surveys did not include adults over 74, so the comparison with recent figures is not exact.

is the Healthy People 2030 target for adult obesity prevalence¹

The measured rate of 40.3% in August 2021 to August 2023 remains above this goal.

of men and 41.3% of women had obesity in August 2021 to August 2023¹

CDC found no significant difference between men and women overall or in any age group.

of adults ages 40 to 59 had obesity, the highest of any age group, in August 2021 to August 2023¹

of adults ages 20 to 39 had obesity in August 2021 to August 2023, compared with 38.9% of adults 60 and older¹

of women had severe obesity, compared with 6.7% of men, in August 2021 to August 2023¹

Severe obesity was higher in women than in men in every age group.

of adults with a bachelor's degree or more had obesity, compared with 44.6% of adults with a high school diploma or less (August 2021 to August 2023)¹

of non-Hispanic Black adults had obesity in 2017 to March 2020, compared with 45.6% of Hispanic, 41.4% of non-Hispanic White and 16.1% of non-Hispanic Asian adults³

These race and ethnicity figures are from the earlier 2017 to March 2020 NHANES cycle.

of adults in Alabama had obesity in 2025, the highest of any state with data⁴

Self-reported BRFSS data. California, Mississippi and Nevada had insufficient 2025 data. Guam reported 39.6%.

of adults in North Dakota had obesity in 2025, followed by Kentucky at 38.8% and Oklahoma at 38.1%⁴

of adults in Colorado had obesity in 2025, the lowest of any state⁴

The District of Columbia was lower at 24.2%.

plus Guam and Puerto Rico had adult obesity prevalence between 35% and less than 40% in 2025⁵

No state or territory had a prevalence of 40% or higher in 2025.

adult obesity prevalence in the Midwest in 2025, followed by the South at 34.8%, the West at 30.7% and the Northeast at 29.6%⁵

and 2 territories had obesity prevalence of 35% or higher among adults ages 40 to 59 in 2025⁵

By comparison, 6 states and 1 territory reached that level among adults ages 18 to 39.

of US children and adolescents ages 2 to 19 had obesity in August 2021 to August 2023⁶

Obesity in children is defined as BMI at or above the 95th percentile on the CDC growth charts.

of children and adolescents ages 2 to 19 had severe obesity in August 2021 to August 2023⁶

of children and adolescents ages 2 to 19 had overweight in August 2021 to August 2023⁶

of adolescents ages 12 to 19 had obesity in August 2021 to August 2023, compared with 22.1% of children ages 6 to 11 and 14.9% of children ages 2 to 5⁶

of boys and 19.1% of girls ages 2 to 19 had obesity in August 2021 to August 2023⁶

of children in families at or below 130% of the federal poverty level had obesity, compared with 11.5% in families above 350% (2017 to March 2020)⁷

adult obesity prevalence rose from 30.5% in 1999 to 2000 to 41.9% in 2017 to March 2020³

age-adjusted adult severe obesity rose from 7.7% in 2013 to 2014 to 9.7% in August 2021 to August 2023¹

Over the same period, the change in overall adult obesity (37.7% to 40.3%) was not statistically significant.

of US children and adolescents had obesity in 1971 to 1974, compared with 13.9% in 1999 to 2000 and 21.1% in August 2021 to August 2023⁶

of children ages 2 to 19 had obesity in 2017 to 2018, the cycle before the most recent 21.1% estimate⁶

in annual US medical spending is associated with adult obesity (2019 dollars)³

higher annual medical costs for an adult with obesity than for an adult with a healthy weight (2019 dollars)³

The difference is $3,097 a year for adults with severe obesity.

estimated annual US medical cost of childhood obesity (2019 dollars)⁷

That is $116 more per child with obesity per year, and $310 more per child with severe obesity, than for a child with a healthy weight.

of US adults said they were currently taking a GLP-1 drug to lose weight or treat a chronic condition in late 2025⁸

KFF Health Tracking Poll fielded October 27 to November 2, 2025. 18% said they had ever used one.

of adults told by a provider in the past five years that they had overweight or obesity said they were currently taking a GLP-1 drug (2025)⁸

of GLP-1 users said the drugs were difficult to afford (2025)⁸