Colorado's lowest obesity rates in the United States

Although the United States had high rates of obesity last year, Colorado remained the state with the lowest number of people suffering from the disease.

About 23% of Colorado's adult residents were obese in 2017 – the lowest rate in the country, according to a report by the Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The Centennial State has consistently recorded the lowest or second lowest rate of the country since 1995, although the number of obese people continues to increase. In 1995, about 11% of Colorado's population suffered from obesity, according to groups.

The state with the highest rate last year, West Virginia, had an obesity rate of 38%, according to the report.

Colorado also has the second lowest rate of diabetes and high blood pressure in the states and the second highest percentage of physically active residents after the state of Washington.

People aged 45 to 64 were the most likely to be obese in Colorado. A racial dividing line persists however. While about 20% of white coloradans are obese, this proportion reaches 27% for their Latino peers and 29% for black residents.

The West has the country's lowest obesity rate, followed by the Northeast, Midwest and South, according to the report.

Global obesity rates have remained relatively stable in the United States in recent years. About 19% of children and 40% of adults were obese in 2015 and 2016, the highest rates ever recorded, according to the study. These rates are comparable to those of previous years, but have increased significantly compared to 14% of children and 31% of adults at the turn of the millennium.

Between 2012 and 2017, obesity rates increased dramatically in 31 states. No state has lowered its rates in the last five years.