The Burrow
Mar 26, 2026
Obesity prevention has become a major global priority as rising rates continue to place increased strain on healthcare systems around the world. Obesity can be linked to a range of serious health risks, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes and certain cancers, which is why prevention and early intervention essential. Around the world, many regions are taking proactive steps to address the issue through initiatives that encourage healthier lifestyles and improve access to support services.
Key strategies include strengthening the healthy food environment, expanding exercise opportunities, and ensuring people have access to appropriate education and healthcare services. Together, these efforts help communities to build the foundations needed to support healthier living.
As health insurance comparison experts, Compare the Market wanted to highlight how different regions are tackling the support being offered. We analysed regions in Australia and the United States using a range of health and lifestyle indicators linked to obesity.
For the US, states were ranked on seven factors, including obesity prevalence, access to healthy foods and exercise and weight loss search trends among other metrics. For Australia, we analysed the 20 most populated cities, ranked by nine different factors, including obesity prevalence, access to green spaces, physical activity guidelines met, weight loss search volume, and alcohol, vegetable and fruit consumption. Each metric when combined produced an overall index score out of 100, allowing regions to be ranked based on the strength of their obesity-related health infrastructure and support systems.
Several areas in the US are leading the way when it comes to obesity prevention. The following top-ranked regions demonstrate how a supportive healthy food environment and active lifestyles can help communities to address obesity more effectively.
The District of Columbia ranks first overall, helped by one of the lowest obesity rates in the dataset at 25.5%. The region also achieved the highest possible score for exercise opportunities, with 100% of residents living near a park or recreational facilities. Combined with a high healthy food environment score of 8.9 out of 10, low physical inactivity at 15%, and the highest number of weight loss searches (2,870.8 per 100,000), Washington, D.C. shows strong engagement with obesity prevention initiatives.
Massachusetts was ranked second overall in the US and recorded one of the highest food environment scores (9.3) among all the regions. Around 95% of residents have access to exercise opportunities, while physical inactivity remains relatively low at 21%. Combined, these factors support the state’s strong performance in obesity prevention.
New Jersey takes third place due to its healthy food environment score of 9.2, one of the strongest in the country. The state also performs well for exercise opportunities, with 96% of residents living near a park or recreational facility. Although obesity prevalence sits at 27.7%, strong infrastructure and relatively moderate inactivity levels (23%) contribute to New Jersey’s continued progress in obesity prevention.
New Hampshire ranks fourth due to its strong access to exercise opportunities, with 85% of residents living close to recreational spaces and parks. The state also performs well for its healthy food environment, scoring 9.4. With an obesity prevalence of 31.1% and physical inactivity at 19%, New Hampshire’s supportive health infrastructure contributes positively to obesity prevention efforts.
Maryland completes the top five, supported by strong access to exercise opportunities for 92% of residents, and a healthy food environment score of 8.7. With an obesity prevalence of 32.7%, physical inactivity of 21%, and 1,950.4 weight loss searches per 100,000, Maryland shows continued engagement with obesity prevention initiatives.
While some regions are making strong progress, others continue to face significant barriers when it comes to obesity prevention. The following regions ranked lowest overall, highlighting where additional public health interventions and resources could support healthier lifestyles.
Mississippi ranks last overall and has the second-highest obesity prevalence in the US at 40.4%. The state also has the lowest healthy food environment score at 3.9. Meanwhile, 31% of residents report not participating in physical activity, which, again, is the highest recorded across all states in the US. Access to exercise opportunities is also limited, with only 58% of residents living near parks or recreational facilities. Mississippi may need to consider further health initiatives and support for residents impacted.
Arkansas shows signs of potential health challenges. The state has an obesity prevalence of 38.9% and it’s reported that only 63% of residents have access to exercise opportunities. Its healthy food environment score is also low at 4.4. These factors highlight the need for more targeted obesity prevention strategies.
Louisiana reported a high obesity prevalence rate of 39.2%. Despite 76% of residents having access to exercise opportunities, 28% of adults reported participating in no physical activity outside of work, this, combined with a relatively low healthy food environment score of 4.8, places Louisiana in third last place.
Oklahoma recorded an obesity prevalence of 36.8%. Majority (71%) of residents have access to exercise opportunities, but 29% reported physical inactivity. Combined with a healthy food environment score of 5.5, this suggests that the state could benefit from improved infrastructure and policies that support obesity prevention to encourage healthier daily habits.
West Virginia has the highest obesity prevalence overall at 41.4%. While 59% of residents have access to exercise opportunities, the state recorded moderate levels of physical inactivity (28%) and a relatively weak healthy food environment score of 6.5.
Several Australian cities are making strong progress in obesity prevention, supported by improving access to green space, supportive health infrastructure and a stronger healthy food environment.
Unsurprisingly, Sydney ranks first overall, supported by a low obesity prevalence of 25.7% (second only to Hobart). With almost half (42.5%) of its residents having access to green spaces, the city also recorded the highest walkability score of 0.7 (0 reflecting the national average), suggesting strong exercise opportunities through everyday movement. Sydney also shows high engagement with weight management, recording 1,369.6 weight loss searches per 100,000, alongside a healthy food environment score of 1.6 out of 3.
Brisbane places second among Australian cities, combining relatively moderate obesity levels (27.7%) with strong health infrastructure. The city performs moderately well for access to obesity healthcare, with 4.8 providers per million people. Around half (47.9%) of residents have access to green space and the city’s healthy food environment score is 1.8 out of 3.
Melbourne maintains a comparatively low obesity prevalence of 26.8%. The city performs strongly for exercise opportunities, with a walkability score of 0.6, encouraging active transport and regular physical activity. Melbourne also records 36.9% access to green space and a healthy food environment score of 1.6.
Adelaide ranks fourth, supported by a moderate obesity prevalence of 30.2%. Almost a third of its residents (32%) have access to green spaces and the city maintains a healthy food environment score of 1.8. Adelaide also records 1,324.7 weight loss searches per 100,000, indicating strong community interest in ongoing obesity prevention efforts.
Perth completes the top five, with an obesity prevalence of 26.9%. The city stands out for access to obesity healthcare providers, with 7.6 providers per million residents, the highest among the top five cities. Around 38% of residents have access to green space, and Perth maintains a healthy food environment score of 1.4, contributing to its continued focus on obesity prevention.
While several cities are making progress, others face greater barriers. Strengthening the healthy food environment and expanding exercise opportunities could play an important role in improving health outcomes in these areas.
Albury ranks last in Australia overall. Although 42.2% of residents have access to green spaces, 80% still fail to meet physical activity guidelines. With a healthy food environment score of 1.6, further investment in public health initiatives could help to improve obesity prevention efforts across the region.
Central Coast has an obesity prevalence of 33.5%, and 77.3% of residents don’t meet physical activity guidelines, suggesting limited exercise opportunities in daily life. With a healthy food environment score of 1.6, improving community infrastructure and health programmes could support stronger obesity prevention outcomes.
Townsville records the highest obesity prevalence in Australia at 40.6%. While 34.3% of residents have access to green spaces, a large proportion of the population (79.2%) doesn’t meet physical activity guidelines. Despite a healthy food environment score of 1.8, the city still faces clear challenges in improving obesity prevention outcomes.
Darwin has a moderate obesity prevalence of 29.9%. Although 26.2% of residents have access to green spaces, the city faces challenges related to lifestyle behaviours, with 77.5% of residents not meeting physical activity guidelines. The city also records one of the lowest healthy food environment scores at 0.4.
Bendigo ranks among the lowest-performing cities with an obesity prevalence of 36%. While over half of the city’s residents (54.3%) have access to green spaces, a high proportion of residents (78.7%) don’t meet recommended physical activity guidelines.
The findings highlight how regions with stronger public health infrastructure often perform better in obesity prevention. Cities that rank highly tend to combine healthier lifestyle behaviours with better access to parks, recreational facilities and health resources that encourage active living.
However, the results also show that some regions continue to face significant challenges, particularly where obesity rates remain high and access to healthy food, healthcare and physical activity infrastructure is more limited. Continued investment in these areas will be essential to help communities build healthier habits and improve long-term health outcomes.
Steven Spicer, Executive General Manager of Health, Life and Energy at Compare the Market, says:
“Health insurance can play an important role in supporting people on their health journey, whether that’s accessing preventative care, specialist support or treatment when it’s needed.
“When people have better access to healthcare services, alongside healthier food options and opportunities to stay active, it can make a meaningful difference in strengthening obesity prevention and helping communities to achieve better long-term health outcomes.”
USA
This dataset ranks US states, based on their obesity prevalence and the surrounding infrastructure around weight loss, by using 7 key factors. Each factor’s data was collected and normalised to a score between 0 and 1. If data was missing, a score of 0 was given. These scores were then combined to give each state a total score out of 100, and states were ranked from highest to lowest.
The factors used are as follows:
The factors were indexed as follows:
All data is correct as of 24/02/26. The ranking data shown is a compilation of multiple data sources and may not be representative of real life. All data is accurate with regards to the sources provided.
Australia
This dataset ranks the 20 most populated cities in Australia, based on their obesity prevalence and the surrounding infrastructure around weight loss, by using 9 key factors. Each factor’s data was collected and normalised to a score between 0 and 1. If data was missing, a score of 0 was given. These scores were then combined to give each city a total score out of 100, and cities were ranked from highest to lowest.
The factors used are as follows:
The factors were indexed as follows:
All data is correct as of 24/02/26. The ranking data shown is a compilation of multiple data sources and may not be representative of real life. All data is accurate with regards to the sources provided. Obesity, Alcohol, Fruit and Physical Guidelines data was collected on a LGA level, in the case of the city being split into multiple LGAs, i.e. Sydney, then all LGAs were combined to calculate this data.