As of 2021, it is estimated that 59% of residents in Travis County are overweight or obese.  This prevalence estimate is smaller than the overall estimate of overweight and obesity for Texas residents of 69.8%.

Healthy People 2020 set an objective to increase the percentage of people that are a healthy weight to 33.9% by achieving 10% improvements in the rate over time.  Based off of data from 2020, an estimated 36.5% of the Travis County population has a healthy weight.  Because Travis County already meets the Healthy People 2020 objective, a 10% decrease from the initial 2018 prevalence value of overweight and obesity (60.9%) would be 54.8% for 2023.

Healthy People 2020 is a set of goals and objectives aimed to improve health promotion and disease prevention.  For more information on Healthy People 2020, visit https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020

Please Note*: The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) collects data from non-institutionalized U.S. adult residents regarding their health-related risk behaviors, chronic health conditions, and use of preventive services.  The primary purpose of the survey is to provide population-based estimates for chronic disease and the associated risk factors for Travis County residents. As a result, data from BRFSS are estimates of the prevalence of any specified condition.

The prevalence of overweight or obese residents has consistently been just slightly lower for Travis County residents than for Texas residents overall.  While the prevalence has fluctuated gradually from 2011-2020, the 2020 prevalence is the highest value in the past four years.

Austin Public Health (APH) provides numerous programs and initiatives to promote healthy eating and active living.  These include diabetes education/prevention classes and Walk Texas and More! which encourage individuals to get active through walking and other forms of exercise.  APH works with schools, workplaces, neighborhoods, and the faith-based community to implement policies, systems, and environmental changes that make it easier to be healthy where people live, work, learn, play, and pray.  To improve access to healthy food, APH contracts with Farmshare Austin to provide mobile markets that offer fresh produce in communities facing  food barriers, and partners with Economic Development Department to offer the Healthy Corner Store Program.  To address racial and ethnic health disparities related to obesity,  APH assures that programs and services are tailored to the cultural and linguistic needs of communities.  Certified Community Health Workers deliver programs in a culturally appropriate manner, both in-person and online, and in English and Spanish.  Efforts to create healthy environments for active living and healthy eating are focused in the Eastern Crescent of Travis County as these ZIP codes have less access to grocery stores and other infrastructure to promote health.

Note: to see the underlying data for this chart, please select the "View Source Data" link to the left.

Body Mass Index (BMI) is a number calculated from an individual's height and weight that classifies their weight into various categories of health including underweight, healthy weight, overweight, and obese.  This measure aims to capture the percentage of residents that have a BMI that meets the criteria of overweight or obese.  Values for resident height and weight are captured through the administration of the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey and then calculated to create estimates of BMI.  The BRFSS survey is a telephone survey conducted annually by Texas Department of State Health Services to assess a variety of health measures within the state.