Kansas City, MO - Missouri residents seem to be trending in the right direction in terms of slimming down and living healthier lives. They improved their score on the new study of the most overweight and obese states in the US.
The 2021 study from WalletHub placed Missouri at No. 14, compared to No. 10 on last year's list. Apparently, we laid off the Imo's Pizza, gooey butter cake and toasted ravioli a bit in the last year.
The study took three main categories into account: Overweight and obese prevalence, food and fitness and health consequences. Missouri either improved or stayed the same in each category.
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The biggest boost came in the "health consequences" category, where Missouri went from No. 19 in 2020, to No. 33 this year (No. 1 being the least-healthy ranking).
Here's where Missouri finished in a few other specific rankings:
15th – % of Overweight Adults
18th – % of Obese Adults
12th – % of Obese Children
13th – % of Physically Inactive Adults
17th – % of Adults with High Cholesterol
25th – % of Adults Eating Less than 1 Serving of Fruits/Vegetables per Day
25th – % of Adults with Type 2 Diabetes
Here's where other surrounding states ranked:
Arkansas - 3
Kentucky - 5
Tennessee - 6
Oklahoma - 10
Kansas - 15
Iowa - 16
Illinois - 24
Nebraska - 34