In the U.S. the level of spending required to tackle obesity related medical issues is around $315.8 billion per year. However, the distribution of health and obesity related across the U.S. is not even. Obesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have a negative effect on health. Obesity increases the possibility of a person developing various diseases, such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, certain types of cancer, and osteoarthritis.
A review by the finance website WalletHub has examined the ‘Fattest Cities in America‘, and the results are interesting. The analysis has considered 17 key metrics. These metrics include the proportion of adults who are obese to the numbers of children who are obese, together with the situation as found in 2017 and the projected changes in relation to obesity rates in 2030.
In terms of the ‘fattest cities’ in the U.S., these are:
1. Jackson, MS
2. Memphis, TN
3. Little Rock, AR
4. McAllen, TX
5. Shreveport, LA
6. Chattanooga, TN
7. Mobile, AL
8. Lafayette, LA
9. Winston, NC
10. Knoxville, TN
Bubbling below the top ten are: Columbia, SC, Greenville, SC, Birmingham, AL, San Antonio, TX and Louisville, KY.
Looking at the information in more detail, with the ‘fittest and leanest’ cities coming out at the top is the San Francisco metro area. This area has the lowest share of obese adults at around 18 percent. This is a whopping 2.5 times lower than in McAllen, Texas. Here the obesity rate is at 44.9 percent.
Considering other measures, the San Jose, California metro area has the lowest rates of physically inactive adults at just over 16 percent. This is 2.3 times lower than in McAllen, Texas, which stands at around 37 percent (and is the highest recorded). With diabetes, the Des Moines, Iowa area has the lowest proportion of diabetic adults at 6 percent (2.5 times lower than Jackson, Missouri, which is at a little over 15 percent. The final measure to call out is high blood pressure. With this the San Jose California area has the lowest share of adults with high blood pressure at 21 percent whereas Mobile, Alabama has a proportion of adults with high blood pressure at 41 percent.
In related news, Digital Journal last year profiled the fattest states in the U.S.