New government data shows the obesity rate is not changing much in most states — and that includes Arizona.

Arizona ranks 29th among states with an obesity rate of 28.9 percent, the same rate as a year ago, according to the report from the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Obesity rates increased in five states — Kansas, Minnesota, New Mexico, Ohio and Utah — but remained stable in the rest.

In Arizona, the obesity rate is well below the national average for each of the three main ethnic groups. 

Blacks in the state have obesity rates that were 13 percent below the national average, Latinos were 8.6 percent below and whites were 8.9 percent under the national figures.

Twenty-three of the 25 states with the highest obesity rates are in the South and Midwest.