The 10 Most Overweight Cities in the U.S
The United States of America has the highest percentage of obese people in the entire world. The effects of this problem do not just impact individuals on a personal level but also the society at large. In 2005, a report was released that showed that a whopping 190 billion dollars were spent on tackling obesity and its related illnesses. By 2017, the number had almost doubled to 206 billion per year. This money is mostly spent on medical care and prescription drugs for the people affected by obesity.
The effects also spread to the society affecting it economically because obesity leads to low productivity and also a lot of absenteeism from work when people have to call in sick to treat obesity-related complications. The cost of absenteeism alone is estimated at about 8.5 billion a year. Now factor in the cost of higher health insurance premiums by employers, lower wages due to absenteeism and lower household income because of medical bills and the economy is hit by a blow so huge it is estimated to get to $580 billion a year by 2030 if this problem is not mitigated fast.
As if that is not enough, obesity is also taking its toll on the security of the country because many young people do not attain the standards required to join the armed forces because they are too heavy.
Over the years, the need to combat this epidemic led to a study that showed the cities in the country with the highest number of obese people. They were judged on the number of obese people, the consumption of fruit and vegetables and how active the adults were. In no particular order, here are the cities that have continuously made it to the list of places with the largest percentages of overweight people in The US over the years since the study started.
1. Columbia South Carolina
To solve the obesity challenges in South Carolina, several sectors have to be addressed right from the type of food served to children in schools to reevaluate the number of hours adults spend at their desks at work. This is because the problem is spread over a wide demographic of children, adults, and race with 41.7% of the African Americans obese compared to only 28.9% of the white population.
2. Baton Rouge Louisiana
The cuisine in this part of Louisiana is mostly Creole. Sugary treats are the norm and we already know that sugar is bad news. This is in evidence in this state. The government should play an active part in tackling this epidemic by subsidizing healthy food so that it is not cheaper to buy the processed food that has almost no nutritional value.
3. San Antonio Texas
The obese population in San Antonio has led to reduced productivity and an increase in health care expenditures and employers are not happy about the increased costs of running their companies.
4. McAllen Texas
It is said that everything is big in Texas and unfortunately some people might have taken this a bit too literary because the state has the highest number of obese adults in the nation and 2nd highest number of population of people living with diabetes and unless they decide to do away with the reputation for the highest number of inactive adults then these percentages are only bound to get higher.
5. Lafayette Louisiana
With a population of 131,686, 16% are smokers, 33% are obese, 21% do not engage in much physical activity and 18% are binge drinkers. This is a city that does not care much for its health.
6. Little Rock Arkansas
On top of a large number of the population being obese, the city also ranks highest on the list of the highest number of adults that do not lead an active lifestyle. Fruits and vegetables are also not popular in these parts. They have a long way to go.
7. Memphis Tennessee
The abundance of mouth-watering southern comfort food in Memphis has not been much of a blessing to the city of jazz because the obesity rates have gone up. There is a need for the population to be educated on the harmful side effects of obesity because at the moment it ranks second in the city with the highest number of overweight people in the country.
8. Jackson Mississippi
Jackson has topped the list of cities with the most overweight people for a few years. It has a list of most people with high blood pressure and also most people with less than one serving of fruits and vegetables per day. Jackson has a long way to go before her inhabitants can achieve optimal health.
9. Shreveport Louisiana
With the 3rd highest number of obese residents and 2nd highest with bad cholesterol and high blood pressure, Shreveport is a ticking time bomb. The state has to get involved in these matters. Educate the population on the adverse effects of being overweight, encourage parents to let their children go outside and play more and subsidizing gym memberships. Preventative programs can also be put in place to arrest this pandemic. Teach the people that paying for the gym is cheaper than paying for heart surgery.
10. Mobile Alabama
A large percentage of the citizens are dealing with high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease which made this southern city score quite poorly in the area of Health Consequences of the study.
The southern states have the most number of people suffering from weight-related complications. In order for the local governments to reduce the risks of weight-related illnesses among these populations, the programs implemented should focus on improving their socio-economic conditions, making healthy food options cheaper and more accessible and also providing nutritional information and knowledge to the people.
Without taking all these aspects into consideration, there might be little success in reduction of the health complications and its impact on the costs of health care and the low productivity brought on by absenteeism of the overweight people.
Conclusion
Please, staying healthy is your obligation. With whatever you are eating and sometimes hit the road for some jogging or just for a mere walk as this will help to burn the calories hence no unhealthy weight increase/obesity.