Our featured content for December is the State of Obesity 2025: Better Policies for a Healthier America. The State of Obesity is an annual report by Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) that looks at key obesity statistics and trends in the United States. TFAH is a non-profit, non-partisan organization that works on various health issues and advocates for prevention and health equity. This year’s edition of the State of Obesity Report includes a special feature that focuses on the science and policy considerations surrounding ultra-processed foods, and how these foods contribute to the obesity crisis in the United States.
Key takeaways from the report include:
- Nationally, obesity rates are comparatively lower for those with college degrees and for those with higher household incomes, indicating the important role the affordability of healthy foods can have in obesity outcomes (NHANES, 2023).
- Hawaiʻi had one of the lowest adult obesity rates in the US (27.0%), behind only Colorado which had an obesity rate of 25.0% (BRFSS, 2024).
- Hawaiʻi’s adult obesity rate has increased from 22.1% in 2014 to 27.0% in 2024, mirroring national trends where the number of states with adult obesity rates over 35% increased from 3 states to 19 states (BRFSS, 2024).
- In the US, people who live in more rural areas have higher rates of obesity compared to people who live in more urban areas (NHANES, 2023).
A core element of the State of Obesity reports are the policy recommendations that TFAH forms to address obesity in the US. Recommendations from this year’s report include:
- Retaining funding for the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
- Undoing funding cuts for nutrition support programs including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC).
- Introducing requirements for front-of-package nutrition labeling so that consumers in the US can make informed purchasing decisions of food
- Decreasing the advertisement of unhealthy foods to children through the limitation of marketing and pricing strategies
View the full list of recommendations formed by TFAH in the full report. A fact sheet specific to Hawaiʻi is also available.
