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
44

OUT OF 50
2019

STATE TREND

Increasing


71%

2019

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
201120122013201420152016201720182019
Arkansas65%69%70%71%69%68%70%70%71%

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention






Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention


Overweight or Obese Adults by Gender
FemaleMale
Arkansas68%73%

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention









INDICATORS TREND | STATE
Access to Quality Seats for Infants and Toddlers Increasing
Access to Quality Childcare Seats for Preschoolers Maintaining
Grade 3 Reading Decreasing
Grade 8 Math Maintaining
Graduation Rate Increasing
Remediation Rate Decreasing
Adults with a High School Degree Increasing
Adults with a Bachelor's Degree or Higher Increasing
Adults Pursuing Further Education Decreasing
Imagination Libraries Increasing
Infant Mortality Maintaining
Early Prenatal Care Increasing
Overweight or Obese Students Increasing
Student Drug Usage Decreasing
Overweight or Obese Adults Increasing
Physically Inactive Adults Maintaining
Smoking Rate Decreasing
Flouridated Water Increasing
Insurance Coverage Rates Increasing
Oral Health Increasing
Life Expectancy Decreasing
Routine Check-ups Increasing
Births to Teens Decreasing
Female-headed Households Increasing
Children Living in Poverty Increasing
People Living in Poverty Increasing
Elderly Living in Poverty Decreasing
Median Household Income Maintaining
Unemployment Rate Increasing
Homeownership Rate Decreasing
Child Abuse and Neglect Decreasing
Access to Financial Services Decreasing
Food Insecurity Decreasing
Incarceration Rate Increasing
Homelessness Decreasing
Change in Total Jobs Increasing
Cost of Homeownership Maintaining
Cost of Rent Increasing
Households Below ALICE Threshold Not Applicable
Child Care Costs for Toddlers Not Applicable
Medical Debt Not Applicable
Voter Participation Rate Decreasing
Charitable Giving Increasing
Volunteering Increasing
Group Participation Increasing
Connection to Neighbors Decreasing
Local Voting Not Applicable
Change in Population Increasing
Change in Population by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable
Change in Population by Age Not Applicable
Adults with a High School Degree Increasing
Adults with a Bachelor's Degree or Higher Increasing
Life Expectancy Decreasing
Female-headed Households Increasing
Children Living in Poverty Increasing
People Living in Poverty Increasing
Elderly Living in Poverty Decreasing
Median Household Income Maintaining
Unemployment Rate Increasing
Homeownership Rate Decreasing
Child Abuse and Neglect Decreasing
Incarceration Rate Increasing
Medical Debt Not Applicable
Change in Population by Race/Ethnicity Not Applicable


Loading...