Do You Live in a “Fat” City?

It’s not new news that we’re getting fatter as a society. What was once quite rare, the number of overweight and obese people in the U.S. has risen to epidemic levels.

To give you an idea, in 1994, no state had obese counts more than 15%. Now, no state has figures less than 20%.

While obesity certainly has major health consequences, there is also a financial devastation taking place. According to Jill Gonzalez, an analyst at WalletHub, Americans spend hundreds of billions of dollars on obesity-related medical treatment every year. This doesn’t factor in the cost of productivity losses due to obesity-related causes.

Each year, WalletHub ranks the “fattest cities” in America to try to bring awareness to the problem. Often referred to as the “stroke belt,” southern and southeastern cities had a significant presence in the Top 10.

The McAllen-Edinburg-Mission metropolitan area in Texas came in at number one, with approximately 60% of its population being overweight or obese. On the other end of the spectrum, coming in at number 100, San Francisco boasts an overweight/obese population of only 20%.

Many of these areas are lacking in healthy food choices or the ability to afford making healthier choices. And, while not a direct correlation, per Gonzalez, WalletHub’s list of “most stressed” cities also included some of the ones on the weight list.

It’s a trend we need to start to reverse, or we’re going to be in for a very problematic future.

Want to see if you live in a “fat” city? Access the full 100 HERE.

Photo by rawpixel.com from Pexels

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