The American people are the most overweight in the world, according to data from OECD.
By one measure cited by WalletHub, more than 70 percent of Americans aged 15 and older are overweight or obese. The cost of obesity on the U.S. healthcare system is substantial: obesity-related medical treatment costs nearly $316 billion a year, according to Bloomberg. Obesity is also positively correlated to increased absenteeism, the cost of which is about $8.65 billion per year.
Certain regions of the U.S. have higher proportions of overweight people than others. To identify them, WalletHub analyzed 100 of the most populated U.S. metro areas across 17 key indicators of weight-related problems. Read the full methodology here.
Here are the 20 fattest cities in America, according to WalletHub's study.
No.1 — Jackson, Miss.
No. 2 — Memphis, Tenn.
No. 3 — Little Rock, Ark.
No. 4 — McAllen, Texas
No. 5 — Shreveport, La.
No. 6 — Chattanooga, Tenn.
No. 7 — Mobile, Ala.
No. 8 — Lafayette, La.
No. 9 — Winston, N.C.
No. 10 — Knoxville, Tenn.
No. 11 — Columbia, S.C.
No. 12 — Greenville, S.C.
No. 13 — Birmingham, Ala.
No. 14 — San Antonio, Texas
No. 15 — Louisville, Ky.
No. 16 — Myrtle Beach, S.C.
No. 17 — Houston
No. 18 — Oklahoma City
No. 19 — Augusta, Ga.
No. 20 — Baton Rouge, La.
Click here to see the full list of 100 cities with the most overweight people.