Health
Overweight or Obese Adults
Source: Arkansas Department of Health
Overweight or Obese Adults
2019
Arkansas County73%
Ashley County75%
Baxter County64%
Benton County67%
Boone County67%
Bradley County76%
Calhoun County77%
Carroll County66%
Chicot County74%
Clark County79%
Clay County72%
Cleburne County68%
Cleveland County78%
Columbia County77%
Conway County69%
Craighead County72%
Crawford County72%
Crittenden County76%
Cross County73%
Dallas County79%
Desha County71%
Drew County78%
Faulkner County70%
Franklin County74%
Fulton County64%
Garland County72%
Grant County73%
Greene County72%
Hempstead County77%
Hot Spring County73%
Howard County73%
Independence County66%
Izard County67%
Jackson County65%
Jefferson County72%
Johnson County76%
Lafayette County77%
Lawrence County69%
Lee County69%
Lincoln County75%
Little River County78%
Logan County74%
Lonoke County70%
Madison County69%
Marion County67%
Miller County77%
Mississippi County76%
Monroe County69%
Montgomery County74%
Nevada County79%
Newton County68%
Ouachita County80%
Perry County71%
Phillips County65%
Pike County79%
Poinsett County73%
Polk County72%
Pope County72%
Prairie County69%
Pulaski County73%
Randolph County72%
Saline County72%
Scott County74%
Searcy County70%
Sebastian County72%
Sevier County74%
Sharp County69%
St. Francis County72%
Stone County70%
Union County77%
Van Buren County71%
Washington County68%
White County66%
Woodruff County65%
Yell County70%

Source: Arkansas Department of Health







NATIONAL RANKING
40

OUT OF 51
2022

STATE TREND

Increasing


71%

2022

What does this measure?

The percentage of adults who have a Body Mass Index (BMI) greater than 25. The index is an estimate of body fat based on height and weight. A person with a BMI between 25 and 30 is considered overweight, and those with a BMI over 30 are considered obese.

Why is this important?

Being overweight or obese puts a person at greater risk for a wide variety of serious health problems. Obesity is recognized as a national problem that has grown tremendously over the last three decades, contributing to increases in medical expenditures for treatment of related diseases.

How is Arkansas doing?

In 2019, 71% of adults were overweight or obese, up 6 percentage points from 2011 and above the national rate of 67%. Arkansas is 45th in the nation on this indicator, including the 50 states and Washington, D.C. The state's rate is only slightly lower than those in the three highest states, Kentucky (72%), West Virginia (72%), and Mississippi (73%). Rates are higher for males (73%) than females (68%). The rate for males is 3 percentage points higher than in 2011; the rate for females is 8 points higher. Non-Hispanic American Indians & Alaskan Natives (81%) and Hispanics (77%) had the highest rates by race/ethnicity, followed by Black non-Hispanics (72%) and White non-Hispanics had the same rate (70%)

Within the state, the lowest rates were in Baxter and Fulton counties, both 64%. The highest rate was in Ouachita County, at 80%.

Notes about the data

National data comes from a federal government survey designed to collect scientific data on health risks and behaviors. Respondents were asked for their height and weight for a computation of Body Mass Index.

Beginning in 2011, the Centers for Disease Control made two changes to the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System on which this indicator is based. The survey now includes cell-phone users, and a new statistical method is used to weight responses. As a result, changes from 2010 and years prior to 2011 and later may be a result of those technical changes rather than true trends. State and county data and data for subgroups are from the Arkansas Department of Health.




Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention


Percent of overweight and obese adults
201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022
Arkansas65%69%70%71%70%68%70%70%71%67%70%71%
United States64%64%64%65%65%65%67%66%67%67%68%68%

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention






Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention


Overweight or Obese Adults by Race
American Indian or Alaskan Native, non-HispanicBlack, non-HispanicHispanicMultiracial, non-HispanicWhite, non-Hispanic
Arkansas72%72%73%76%71%

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention





Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention


Overweight or Obese Adults by Gender
FemaleMale
Arkansas69%73%

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention









INDICATORS TREND | STATE
Education: Access to Quality Slots for Infants and Toddlers Not Applicable
Education: Access to Quality Child Care Slots for Preschoolers Not Applicable
Education: Grade 3 Reading Decreasing
Education: Grade 8 Math Maintaining
Education: Graduation Rate Increasing
Education: Remediation Rate Maintaining
Education: Adults with a High School Degree Increasing
Education: Adults with a Bachelor's Degree or Higher Increasing
Education: Adults Pursuing Further Education Decreasing
Education: Imagination Libraries Increasing
Health: Low Birth Weight Babies Not Applicable
Health: Early Prenatal Care Increasing
Health: Overweight or Obese Students Increasing
Health: Overweight or Obese Adults Increasing
Health: Physically Inactive Adults Maintaining
Health: Smoking Rate Decreasing
Health: Insurance Coverage Rates Increasing
Health: Oral Health Increasing
Health: Life Expectancy Decreasing
Health: Routine Check-ups Increasing
Health: Overdose Deaths Increasing
Families: Teen Births Decreasing
Families: Children Living in Poverty Maintaining
Families: People Living in Poverty Maintaining
Families: Elderly Living in Poverty Maintaining
Families: Median Household Income Maintaining
Families: Unemployment Rate Decreasing
Families: Homeownership Rate Decreasing
Families: Child Abuse and Neglect Decreasing
Families: Access to Financial Services Decreasing
Families: Food Insecurity Decreasing
Families: Food Deserts Not Applicable
Families: Homelessness Decreasing
Families: Change in Total Jobs Increasing
Families: Cost of Homeownership Maintaining
Families: Households Below ALICE Threshold Not Applicable
Families: Overall Housing Cost Burden Decreasing
Families: Child Care Costs for Toddlers Not Applicable
Families: Medical Debt Not Applicable
Families: Households Receiving SNAP Decreasing
Families: Incarceration Rate Increasing
Community: Voter Participation Rate Decreasing
Community: Charitable Giving Increasing
Community: Volunteering Increasing
Community: Group Participation Increasing
Community: Connection to Neighbors Decreasing
Community: Local Voting Not Applicable
Demographics: Change in Population Increasing
Demographics: Change in Population by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Demographics: Change in Population by Age Not Applicable
Racial Equity: Remediation Rate Maintaining
Racial Equity: Adults with a High School Degree Increasing
Racial Equity: Adults with a Bachelor's Degree or Higher Increasing
Racial Equity: Adults Pursuing Further Education Decreasing
Racial Equity: Low Birth Weight Babies Not Applicable
Racial Equity: Early Prenatal Care Increasing
Racial Equity: Overweight or Obese Students Increasing
Racial Equity: Overweight or Obese Adults Increasing
Racial Equity: Physically Inactive Adults Maintaining
Racial Equity: Smoking Rate Decreasing
Racial Equity: Insurance Coverage Rates Increasing
Racial Equity: Oral Health Increasing
Racial Equity: Life Expectancy Decreasing
Racial Equity: Routine Check-ups Increasing
Racial Equity: Teen Births Decreasing
Racial Equity: Children Living in Poverty Maintaining
Racial Equity: People Living in Poverty Maintaining
Racial Equity: Elderly Living in Poverty Maintaining
Racial Equity: Median Household Income Maintaining
Racial Equity: Unemployment Rate Decreasing
Racial Equity: Homeownership Rate Decreasing
Racial Equity: Child Abuse and Neglect Decreasing
Racial Equity: Food Insecurity Decreasing
Racial Equity: Homelessness Decreasing
Racial Equity: Cost of Homeownership Maintaining
Racial Equity: Medical Debt Not Applicable
Racial Equity: Households Receiving SNAP Decreasing
Racial Equity: Incarceration Rate Increasing
Racial Equity: Change in Population by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable








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