10. Ohio
> Low food security homes: 16.1%
> Very low food security homes: 7.1% (3rd highest)
> Median household income: $45,749 (16th lowest)
> Pct. obesity: 29.5% (8th highest)

More than 16% of families in Ohio experienced low food security, meaning they had difficulty accessing food and had poor diet quality. This problem was even worse for some families. Ohio also had the third highest percentage of households in the nation, at 7.1%, that had experienced very low food security at some point. In these homes, at least one person had to reduce food intake or had their eating patterns disrupted by irregular access to food.

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9. Tennessee
> Low food security homes: 16.2%
> Very low food security homes: 6.9% (5th highest)
> Median household income: $41,693 (6th lowest)
> Pct. obesity: 29.6% (7th highest)

More than 16% of Tennessee households faced food insecurity at some point. Like in most states, this number rose considerably from the decade before. In 2002, just 11.3% of households faced food insecurity at some point. Similarly, between 2002 and 2012, the average proportion of households facing very low food security more than doubled, from 3.3% to 6.9%. As of 2011, 17.6% of homes received food stamps or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, more than all but two other states. Also, according to Gallup-Healthways, residents in Tennessee were less likely than Americans in almost any other state to eat healthily.

8. Nevada
> Low food security homes: 16.6%
> Very low food security homes: 6.7% (8th highest)
> Median household income: $48,927 (24th lowest)
> Pct. obesity: 24.9% (15th lowest)

Between 2002 and 2012, the percentage of households in Nevada that faced food insecurity rose from 9.3% to 16.6%. This was the largest such increase in the nation. In those 10 years, the percentage of Nevadans facing very low food security jumped as well, from 3.3% in 2002 to 6.7% in 2012. A lack of access to food was hardly the only major constraint facing Nevada residents, who according to Gallup were less likely to have a doctor or health insurance than residents of nearly all other states as of 2012.

7. Missouri
> Low food security homes: 16.7%
> Very low food security homes: 7.6% (2nd highest)
> Median household income: $45,247 (15th lowest)
> Pct. obesity: 27.2% (21st highest)

According to a 2012 Gallup-Healthways survey, residents of just two other states were less likely than Missourians to eat healthily. The falling food security of many of the state’s residents may play a role in their poor diets. Nearly 8% of households faced very low food security, the second highest percentage in the nation. This was up significantly from 3.3% in 2002, and the largest increase in the nation over the 10-year period.

6. Georgia
> Low food security homes: 16.9%
> Very low food security homes: 6.5% (10th highest)
> Median household income: $46,007 (18th lowest)
> Pct. obesity: 28.6% (14th highest)

Several factors likely contribute to food insecurity in Georgia. Georgia had one of the nation’s highest poverty rates in 2011, at 19.1% of all residents. Similarly, 6.4% of families earned less than $10,000 annually as of 2011, one of the highest proportions in the nation. According to a 2012 Gallup survey, Georgia residents were among the most likely in the nation to have lacked money for food at some point. They also were more likely than most Americans to not have a doctor or health insurance coverage.