An overwhelming majority of the cities with the highest number of overweight people in the U.S. are located in the South, according to recent research from personal finance company WalletHub.
Three Tennessee cities—Knoxville, Memphis and Chattanooga—and three Louisiana cities—Shreveport, Lafayette and Baton Rouge—were among the top 10 most obese cities in the country, but the top spot went to a Texas city: McAllen. Newsweek contacted WalletHub for comment by email on Saturday.
The growing rate of obesity in the U.S. is an issue that worries both medical and financial experts, as a higher number of obese and overweight U.S. adults means that the cost of obesity-related medical treatment is likely to climb. The latest data shared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that the U.S. obesity rate rose from 30.5 percent to 41.9 percent between 1999-2000 and 2017-2020. During the same period, the rate of individuals with severe obesity grew from 4.7 percent to 9.2 percent.
Research published in 2021 in the scientific journal Plos One showed that the annual medical cost of obesity was estimated at $173 billion in 2019. Adults with obesity paid an average $1,861 more in medical costs than people with a healthy weight.
These are the cities with the highest obesity and overweight rates in the country, according to calculations made by WalletHub:
- McAllen, Texas
- Jackson, Mississippi
- Shreveport, Louisiana
- Mobile, Alabama
- Little Rock, Arkansas
- Knoxville, Tennessee
- Memphis, Tennessee
- Lafayette, Louisiana
- Baton Rouge, Louisiana
- Chattanooga, Tennessee
The Miami-based personal-finance company compared 100 of the most-populated metro areas in the country to obtain these results. WalletHub took in 19 “key indicators” of weight-related problems, including being obese or overweight, physical activity and health consequences.
McAllen had the highest percentage of adults who are obese of all cities considered at 45 percent, with an additional 31 percent who can be considered overweight but not obese. The city also had the second-highest percentage of obese teenagers and children.
WalletHub also found that McAllen had the highest rate of adults who are physically inactive. This could be linked to the fact that the Texan city has the lowest percentage of residents who live close to parks or recreational facilities.
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Jackson had the highest obesity rate among children, with nearly 24 percent of kids aged 10 to 17 obese, while 19 percent of young people are overweight. The Mississippi city also had the highest share of adults who had a stroke, at 5.5 percent.
In Shreveport, about 36 percent of adults are obese, and another 36 percent are overweight.
“Obesity is becoming more and more prevalent in the U.S., and it’s costing us big time,” Cassandra Happe, WalletHub analyst, said in a written statement. “In the most overweight and obese cities, residents often lack easy access to healthy food and recreation opportunities, so investing in those areas should help improve people’s diets and exercise regimens, and reduce the financial burden overall.”
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.