Obesity on the Rise: Top 10 Cities With Growing Waistlines
Many Americans are familiar with the stereotype that everyone in their country is overweight and consumes too much junk food. While that’s a stretch (no pun intended), over 40% percent of U.S. adults are obese.
WalletHub analyzed 100 of the most populated U.S. metropolis across 19 key indicators of weight-related issues to determine which cities have the highest overweight and obese populations. Examples of the indicators include:
- Share of adults and children with obesity
- Health consequences
- Access to healthy food
- Lifestyle choices
The results are as follows.
1: McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas
Taking the top spot for the highest obese population is the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission metro area. This region scores 85.93 points overall, with higher numbers indicating a more overweight and obese population. The McAllen-Edinburg-Mission metro area ranks the second-worst for both health consequences and fitness.
2: Memphis Metro Area
The Memphis metro area, which includes regions in Tennessee, Missouri, and Arkansas, scored 84.88 overall on the obesity and overweight scale. It has the third-highest rate of fitness and health consequences, meaning its residents may suffer from high cholesterol, diabetes, and low healthy food consumption.
3: Mobile, Alabama
The birthplace of Mardi Gras carries some weight to it, with the second-highest population of obese and overweight residents in the study. However, it ranks 21 for food and fitness, placing it firmly in third place for cities with the most overweight and obese residents, with 84.52 points overall.
4: Knoxville, Tennessee
This steadily growing Knoxville metro area has a troubling rate of health consequences due to obesity. No metro area ranked higher in the category, so it’s safe to say there are many residents with high cholesterol, diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease. Knoxville scored 84.31 on the overweight and obesity scale.
5: Jackson, Mississippi
Rounding out the top five most overweight and obese cities is the capital of Mississippi. With 84.18 points overall, Jackson landed as the six-worst in the health consequences category.
6: Chattanooga Metro Area
Another fast-growing Tennessee city that also spreads into Georgia appeared in WalletHub’s study. It received the most weighted points for its rate of obese and overweight residents but scored high among health consequences and inadequate healthy food and fitness.
7: Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, Arkansas
Of the 100 metros in WalletHub’s study, none ranked higher for the share of overweight residents and projected obesity rate by 2030 than Little Rock. It also has a notable lack of access to healthy food in many areas, scoring it at 83.74 overall.
8: Shreveport-Bossier City, Louisiana
With 83.46 points overall, the Shreveport-Bossier City metro area makes the top ten for multiple obesity-related metrics. It comes in as the fourth-worst overall regarding health consequences for its residents and has an overall overweight and obesity score of 83.46.
9: Birmingham-Hoover, Alabama
While downtown Birmingham is known as a hidden gem of a foodie city, the sprawling Birmingham-Hoover metro is a different story. There are considerable food deserts, contributing to poor health consequences for its residents. The Birmingham-Hoover metro area scored 82.37 points overall.
10: Columbia, South Carolina
Scoring 81.64 points overall, Columbia faces several obesity-related problems. It ranks seventh-worst in the nation for the food and fitness category, with limited access to healthy foods and physically inactive adults.
Thinnest City
The Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, Colorado metro area has the lowest percentage of obese and overweight adults. It has a total overweight and obesity score of 58.83.
Cause and Effect
While fast-food spots on every corner can negatively impact American diets, there are several factors sometimes beyond people’s control that cause them to fall into obesity. According to a National Library of Medicine study, the link between obesity, inactivity, and poverty may be too costly to ignore, as it accounts for 70% of US health costs.
Obesity Costs
The extra pounds Americans carry have inflated the costs of obesity-related medical treatment to approximately $190.2 billion a year. There are also approximately $4.3 billion in annual productivity losses due to work absenteeism.
Active Residents
Provo, Utah, has many fitness junkies within its city limits, according to WalletHub, as it came in with the lowest percentage of physically inactive adults in the study. Seattle, Washington; Raleigh, North Carolina; Denver, Colorado; and Sacramento, California, followed closely behind.
10 Overweight Countries That Make Americans Look Thin
The United States technically isn’t home to the highest percentage of overweight citizens. Can you name the countries that have the most overweight residents in the world?
10 Overweight Countries That Make Americans Look Thin
The Junk Food Americans Hate To Love
Quick: What’s your favorite snack? See if your taste for junk food aligns with the latest trends in the most beloved junk food by state.
