Twinkies Anyone? Texas is Home to The Fattest City in The Country

My fellow Texans, a new study from WalletHub just ranked a city in Texas as the fattest in the nation.

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It's Texas, home of BBQ, Dr Pepper, Mars, Margaritas, Lone Star Beer, Sweat Tea and Deep Fried Butter. So many tasty calories, how can anyone say no? Apparently, they don't. It's no wonder we're tipping the scales.

Obesity in America

All kidding aside, obesity in America is a major issue, with the WalletHub study finding more than 40% of adults in the U.S. are obese. That's a very high percentage. The costs associated with obesity are also very high. About $190 billion a year are spent on medical issues directly related to obesity. The study also states that annual productivity losses due to work absenteeism is around $4.3 billion.

Obesity and COVID

Obesity can be even worse during the COVID-19 pandemic. The CDC says that obesity can lead to COVID symptoms being twice as bad for obese people and triple the chances of hospitalization.

Determining the Most Obese City in The Nation

To determine the most obese city in the nation,  WalletHub compared the top 100 most populated U.S. metro areas across 19 key indicators of weight-related problems, then factored in physically inactive adults to projected obesity rates by 2030 to healthy-food access.

Here are the top 10 results:

10 - Baton Rouge, LA
9 - Augusta, GA
8 - Shreveport, LA
7 - Little Rock, AR
6 - Birmingham, AL
5 - Jackson, MS
4 - Mobile, AL
3 - Knoxville, TN
2 - Memphis, TN
1 - McAllen, TX

McAllen, Texas is The Most Obese City in America

According to the results, McAllen, Texas topped the list in two categories, highest share of obese adults at 44.9% and highest share of physically inactive adults, 36.9%. The results also showed El Paso, Texas as the metro area with the highest share of diabetic adults at 16%.

Not a great look for Texas.

The good news is that as bad as this study looks for McAllen, Texas, it can easily change by next year. Pay a little more attention to your diet, cut out any unnecessary calories and get outside for some exercise and turn the fattest city in the country over to some other state.

It can be done.