Montanan’s are Among the Least Obese in the Nation

Outsiders might call Montanans any number of things. Rednecks, country bumpkins, close-minded, naive, a bunch of drunks, uneducated, and so forth. But one thing you can't say about Montanans is that we're obese.

With November being National Diabetes Awareness Month and obesity costing the health care system $173 billion each year, the personal-finance company WalletHub today released its report on 2026's Most Overweight & Obese States in America. Montana ranks near the bottom of the list, at the 45th most obese state in the US. 

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Amy Walters

The most obese states are in the South.

For a variety of possible reasons (financial, ease of access to healthy food, education, cultural norms, sugary soda consumption, etc.), there are more obesity problems in the South.

The heaviest scale tippers live in West Virginia, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, Alabama, Tennessee, and Kentucky. Maine, Delaware, and Texas round out the Top 10 portliest populations in America.

Matt Cardy, Getty Images

Are Montanans skinny from freezing our butts off?

I'm joking. Shivering does burn a minuscule amount of calories, but it's not enough to make any real impact.  And if cold weather made a drop of difference in body weight, then our neighbors in North Dakota wouldn't have landed at the 16th Most Obese State in the US.

The least obese states are Montana (45th), California (46th), Minnesota (47th), Hawaii (48th), Massachusetts (49th), Utah (50th), and Colorado (51st).

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You can't exercise your way out of obesity.

Exercise is beneficial for a plethora of well-known reasons, but when it comes to dropping extra pounds, hitting the treadmill is not the most efficient way.

Scott Thorne, Ph.D., an instructor at Southeast Missouri State University, said, "Generally, one cannot exercise enough to cause significant weight loss.” It's all about diet. Fewer calories in = less weight.