Obesity

• At least three in ten residents of Minnesota and its St. Croix River Valley counties were classified as obese, based on their body mass index.
• Wisconsin and most of its counties have lower rates of obesity than Minnesota and Washington County.
• All St. Croix River Valley counties have a lower rate of obesity than their respective state averages.
• Burnett was the only county in the region where less than one in five residents were classified as obese in 2021.

• Wisconsin has observed an increasing trend in the percentage of its population classified as obese since 2010.
• Meanwhile, the percentage of obese residents in Burnett County has decreased significantly since 2019 (possibly due to the population growth the county has observed in the same period), while Polk and Pierce counties have shown an unclear trend in obesity rates during this time period.
• The percentage of obese residents in St. Croix County increased between 2010 and 2019, but has remained stagnant since then.
• All St. Croix River Valley counties had a lower obesity rate compared to the Wisconsin state average in 2021. Wisconsin obesity rates are skewed by the relatively high rates observed in more populous counties such as Milwaukee County – which is the most populous in Wisconsin and also had the highest obesity rate in the state.

.

• The proportion of the Minnesota population classified as obese has trended upward over time.
• Washington County tends to have a slightly lower proportion of its residents classified as obese relative to the Minnesota average, although such proportion has been rising over time.
• Chisago County used to have a higher proportion of its residents classified as obese compared to the state average, but such proportion has been under the state average since 2017 – even though it has also been increasing in the last three years.
• All St. Croix River Valley counties had a lower obesity rate compared to the Minnesota state average in 2021. Just as in Wisconsin, obesity rates in Minnesota are skewed by the relatively high rates observed in more populous counties such as Ramsey County – which has the 2nd highest population in Minnesota and one of the highest obesity rates in the state..

View Data