According to the ‘2024 Most Overweight and Obese Cities in the U.S.’ report issued by personal finance website WalletHub, McAllen, Texas, has the greatest proportion of Latinos in the United States, as well as the highest share of obese individuals.
WalletHub issued the data during National Nutrition Month, highlighting that “the annual medical cost of obesity reaching close to $200 billion.” To compile the ranking, WalletHub evaluated 100 of the most populous U.S. metro regions across 19 key indicators, including obesity and overweight rates, food and fitness, and health “consequences” like diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, or heart disease.
The website gathers data from several sources, including the United States Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, County Health Rankings, the United States Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service, and others.
According to Census Bureau estimates, McAllen, which has an 87% Latino population, is the most overweight city in the country. According to the survey, 45% of its population are fat, with the remaining 31% being overweight but not obese. The city’s adult population is 2.4 times that of Asheville, North Carolina, the country’s lowest-rate metro area.
America has one of the most #obese population in the world. Is your city among the heaviest or the healthiest? Check out WalletHub’s latest report for the answer: https://t.co/kgweWQYqXK pic.twitter.com/dIxRCEHxbc
— WalletHub (@wallethub) March 11, 2024
According to WalletHub, McAllen, located at the state’s southern edge in the Rio Grande Valley on the Mexico-United States border, has the second-highest share of obese teenagers and children.
This city’s metro region also has the greatest share of physically inactive adults, 2.4 times more than Provo, Utah, which has the lowest, according to the research.
“A major contributing factor to McAllen’s obesity is that it has the lowest percentage of residents who live close to parks or recreational facilities, which leads to many people being inactive,” Cassandra Happe, an analyst at WalletHub,
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 42% of adults in the United States are obese, ranking among the highest percentages in the world.
“Unfortunately, the extra pounds have inflated the costs of obesity-related medical treatment to approximately $190.2 billion a year and annual productivity losses due to work absenteeism to around $4.3 billion,” according to a section of the report.
Furthermore, McAllen’s statistics suggest that its citizens suffer from ailments associated with being overweight. According to WalletHub, the city has the fourth-largest share of diabetics and the third-highest risk of heart disease.
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