Life expectancy in the U.S. has dropped a full year in the first half of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The disease has had a significant impact on older Americans and people with certain health conditions, including obesity. Obesity is a major risk factor for COVID-19 complications and death, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Even before the pandemic, obesity has been identified as being associated with several leading causes of death in the U.S. 24/7 Tempo reviewed county-level health data from the 2020 County Health Rankings & Roadmaps to identify the most obese county in every state.
The condition is a complex health concern with a wide range of causes that include genetics, access to healthy food, and environment, among other factors. Partially as a result, obesity rates can range considerably from state to state as well as between counties of the same state.
In California, 23.6% of adults are obese. The state’s most obese county is Lassen where the adult obesity rate is 40.9%, about 12 percentage points higher than the national adult obesity rate of 29.0%.
Physical exercise can reduce the likelihood of obesity. In Lassen County, 36.9% of adults don’t exercise on a regular basis, compared to 17.6% of adults across California as a whole.
Poor diet is another factor that can lead to obesity — and diet is often significantly affected by economic circumstances. Low-income Americans can afford fewer healthy options. The median annual household income in Lassen County is $56,352, which is $18,883 less than the state median of $75,235.
Health experts have pointed to several other lifestyle factors that are likely contributing to the excess weight problem, among them the consumption of high-calorie diets, including large sugary beverages — here are 45 fast food single items with more than 1,000 calories
| County | State | Obesity | Diabetes | Adults who don’t exercise | Adults in poor or fair health | Median household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Macon | Alabama | 49.6% | 23.0% | 32.3% | 29.9% | $33,370 |
| Aleutians East | Alaska | 50.5% | 12.6% | 30.0% | 16.8% | $69,250 |
| Yuma | Arizona | 36.9% | 14.1% | 26.3% | 22.7% | $45,243 |
| Bradley | Arkansas | 46.4% | 16.1% | 40.8% | 28.4% | $43,184 |
| Lassen | California | 40.9% | 19.6% | 36.9% | 15.2% | $56,352 |
| Logan | Colorado | 38.0% | 11.1% | 23.4% | 14.6% | $53,318 |
| Windham | Connecticut | 30.3% | 11.1% | 23.0% | 13.4% | $66,550 |
| Kent | Delaware | 35.4% | 13.1% | 31.2% | 19.0% | $60,910 |
| Gadsden | Florida | 42.8% | 20.0% | 35.4% | 25.8% | $41,401 |
| Warren | Georgia | 57.7% | 24.1% | 27.8% | 24.3% | $37,203 |
| Hawaii | Hawaii | 25.5% | 10.3% | 21.0% | 13.9% | $62,409 |
| Owyhee | Idaho | 39.3% | 13.5% | 26.3% | 20.1% | $43,798 |
| Kankakee | Illinois | 41.2% | 10.8% | 36.5% | 16.4% | $58,902 |
| Martin | Indiana | 42.5% | 8.6% | 39.6% | 17.5% | $52,726 |
| Franklin | Iowa | 45.1% | 15.6% | 29.8% | 15.8% | $56,419 |
| Atchison | Kansas | 43.4% | 11.3% | 32.7% | 17.4% | $50,439 |
| Owsley | Kentucky | 46.3% | 11.4% | 26.1% | 26.6% | $30,284 |
| Grant | Louisiana | 47.4% | 20.5% | 41.4% | 22.5% | $42,505 |
| Piscataquis | Maine | 36.6% | 11.4% | 25.1% | 15.2% | $40,890 |
| Somerset | Maryland | 44.4% | 13.3% | 34.5% | 19.1% | $37,803 |
| Hampden | Massachusetts | 31.2% | 10.7% | 25.7% | 18.3% | $55,429 |
| Gladwin | Michigan | 42.5% | 19.4% | 26.1% | 17.1% | $44,619 |
| Polk | Minnesota | 39.4% | 9.6% | 27.4% | 13.6% | $59,343 |
| Jefferson | Mississippi | 53.7% | 16.0% | 35.1% | 37.5% | $25,019 |
| Daviess | Missouri | 45.4% | 7.3% | 30.4% | 18.4% | $51,679 |
| Blaine | Montana | 39.1% | 13.6% | 27.2% | 23.1% | $41,279 |
| Thurston | Nebraska | 44.1% | 19.2% | 32.2% | 25.1% | $51,034 |
| Lyon | Nevada | 34.9% | 12.4% | 25.0% | 18.0% | $56,875 |
| Coos | New Hampshire | 33.6% | 13.1% | 25.9% | 14.9% | $47,117 |
| Salem | New Jersey | 36.5% | 14.4% | 29.6% | 19.2% | $66,842 |
| McKinley | New Mexico | 38.8% | 17.1% | 25.6% | 26.5% | $33,834 |
| Chenango | New York | 38.8% | 13.3% | 24.2% | 14.7% | $52,002 |
| Hertford | North Carolina | 46.5% | 21.7% | 42.5% | 23.5% | $41,028 |
| Rolette | North Dakota | 43.0% | 14.9% | 33.2% | 29.8% | $43,158 |
| Van Wert | Ohio | 40.8% | 14.9% | 31.2% | 16.2% | $54,254 |
| Okfuskee | Oklahoma | 48.4% | 19.8% | 30.5% | 24.6% | $38,411 |
| Jefferson | Oregon | 42.6% | 19.3% | 24.0% | 19.6% | $53,277 |
| Armstrong | Pennsylvania | 42.3% | 12.0% | 30.8% | 16.3% | $51,410 |
| Kent | Rhode Island | 29.8% | 10.3% | 24.2% | 14.3% | $73,521 |
| Marion | South Carolina | 43.6% | 21.9% | 38.1% | 26.0% | $32,063 |
| Ziebach | South Dakota | 51.6% | 17.5% | 27.4% | 29.2% | $37,400 |
| Haywood | Tennessee | 46.6% | 15.1% | 31.6% | 27.2% | $37,905 |
| Bowie | Texas | 47.3% | 14.8% | 39.3% | 18.9% | $50,164 |
| Uintah | Utah | 35.2% | 9.9% | 24.2% | 14.5% | $65,264 |
| Franklin | Vermont | 34.3% | 10.4% | 26.1% | 13.2% | $65,485 |
| King and Queen | Virginia | 52.3% | 12.7% | 28.8% | 17.8% | $63,982 |
| Pend Oreille | Washington | 39.9% | 13.9% | 24.9% | 16.8% | $50,591 |
| Ritchie | West Virginia | 44.2% | 13.2% | 30.4% | 21.9% | $43,577 |
| Columbia | Wisconsin | 43.2% | 11.0% | 20.2% | 12.4% | $68,005 |
| Uinta | Wyoming | 35.8% | 11.3% | 27.2% | 15.5% | $63,403 |
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