Americans are getting bigger; in fact, 40% of adults in the U.S. are considered obese. Obviously, being obese is bad for your health, but this is especially true during COVID, with obesity greatly increasing your risk of the more serious symptoms of the disease. But while the number of overweight Americans in general is rising, some cities have more unhealthy citizens due to weight issues than others.
According to a report by WalletHub, which looked at factors including percentage of obese adults; percentage of inactive adults; percentage of residents with high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and diabetes; and levels of vegetable and fruit consumption, these are the 10 fattest cities in the country:
- McAllen, Texas
- Memphis, Tennessee
- Baton Rouge Louisiana
- Little Rock, Arkansas
- Shreveport, Louisiana
- Birmingham, Alabama
- Jackson, Mississippi
- Mobile, Alabama
- Lafayette, Louisiana
- Knoxville, Tennessee
On the other end of the spectrum, these are the 10 cities with the lowest number of obese residents:
- Honolulu, Hawaii
- Denver, Colorado
- Boston, Massachusetts
- Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota
- San Jose, California
- Seattle, Washington
- Portland, Oregon
- Washington, D.C., metro area
- Colorado Springs, Colorado
- Salt Lake City Utah