The Fattest Cities in the U.S. - See Where Providence Ranks

The Fattest Cities in the U.S. - See Where Providence Ranks

Where does Providence rank among the fattest cities in the U.S.?

According to a recent study completed by WalletHub, Providence is ranked 43rd out of 100 cities when it comes to being the fattest.

Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention findings come from a 2017-18 health survey that measures height and weight. More than 5,000 U.S. adults took part.

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The CDC survey found that the obesity rate was 42%, higher than the 40% found in a similar 2015-16 study. The severe obesity rate increased to 9% in the new survey, up from the 8% figure.

“Such a finding should come as no surprise, considering the huge availability of fast-food and increasingly cheaper grocery items that have negatively altered our diets. 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,” writes WalletHub.

In November of 2019, WalletHub ranked Rhode Island as one of the fattest states in the U.S. 

Providence’s Rankings

• 44th Best - Obesity & overweight
• 57th Best - Health consequences
• 55th Best - Food & fitness

 

The Rankings

Providence is ranked directly behind Charlotte, North Carolina, and Youngstown, Ohio, who rank 41st and 42nd overall.

Providence is ranked ahead of Grand Rapids, Wyoming and Jacksonville, Florida, who ranks 44th and 45th overall.

McAllen, Texas is ranked as the fattest city, while San Francisco, California is ranked as the slimmest city.

See the full rankings in the map below

The Method

In order to determine the fattest cities in America, WalletHub compared 100 of the most populated U.S. metro areas across three key dimensions: 1) Obesity & Overweight, 2) Health Consequences and 3) Food & Fitness.

They evaluated those dimensions using 19 relevant metrics. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the “fattest.”

WalletHub then determined each city’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score and used the resulting scores to rank-order our sample.

Obesity & Overweight – Total Points: 60

• Share of Overweight Adults: Full Weight (~13.33 Points)
• Share of Obese Adults: Full Weight (~13.33 Points)
• Share of Overweight Teenagers: Half* Weight (~6.67 Points)
• Share of Obese Teenagers: Half* Weight (~6.67 Points)
• Share of Overweight Children: Half* Weight (~6.67 Points)
• Share of Obese Children: Half* Weight (~6.67 Points)
• Projected Obesity Rates by 2030: Half* Weight (~6.67 Points)

 

Health Consequences – Total Points: 25

• Share of Adults with High Cholesterol: Full Weight (~5.56 Points)
• Share of Diabetic Adults: Full Weight (~5.56 Points)
• Share of Adults with High Blood Pressure: Full Weight (~5.56 Points)
• Heart-Disease Rate: Full Weight (~5.56 Points)
• Obesity-Related Death Rate: Half* Weight (~2.78 Points)

 

Food & Fitness – Total Points: 15

• Share of Adults with Low Fruit/Vegetable Consumption: Full Weight (~1.50 Points)
• Share of Residents Who Say They Eat Healthy: Full Weight (~1.50 Points)
• Limited Access to Healthy Food: Full Weight (~1.50 Points)
• Share of Physically Inactive Adults: Full Weight (~1.50 Points)
• City Friendliness toward an Active Lifestyle: Quadruple Weight (~6.00 Points)
• Access to Parks & Recreational Facilities: Full Weight (~1.50 Points)
• Number of Health Educators and Community Health Workers per Capita: Full Weight (~1.50 Points)