Fattest In America: Here's How DC, NoVa Ranks

WASHINGTON, DC — Routinely, the U.S. ranks at or near the top of the most obese countries in the world, and it's a problem that isn't getting better, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says.

According to the latest data from the CDC, from 1999-2000 through 2017-2018, the prevalence of obesity increased from 30.5 percent to 42.4 percent, and the prevalence of severe obesity increased from 4.7 percent to 9.2 percent.

Certain cities — however — are more responsible than others for America's bad rap. And one personal finance website wanted to see which areas are tipping the scales toward unhealthy lifestyles and obesity-related diseases.

To identify them, the researchers at WalletHub compared 100 of the most populous metro areas based on 19 metrics across three categories: obesity and overweight; health consequences; and food and fitness. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale — with 100 representing the "fattest."

Here's the good news: the D.C. metro area — which, in this study, is Washington-Arlington-Alexandria — didn't earn the dubious honor of being named one of the fattest places in America.

Overall, the region ranked 93rd fattest metro area in the country, slightly fatter than Colorado Springs, Colorado, and slightly slimmer than Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, Colorado. The total score? 60.92 out of 100.

Here's the breakdown for our area:

• Obesity and overweight rank: 83
• Health consequences rank: 75
• Food and fitness rank: 97

Obesity and overweight received the second highest weight, accounting for 83 percent of the overall score. This category included metrics such as share of overweight and obese adults, teens and children.

Health consequences accounted for 75 percent of the overall score. This category included metrics such as share of adults with high cholesterol, diabetes, and high blood pressure.

Food and fitness received the most weight (so to speak) in the ranking, accounting for 97 percent of the overall score. This category included metrics such as share of overweight and obese adults, teens, and children.

Here are the top 10 fattest cities in America:

1. McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX (84.21)
2. Shreveport-Bossier City, LA (82.37)
3. Memphis, TN-MS-AR (82.07)
4. Jackson, MS (80.98)
5. Knoxville, TN (79.94)
6. Tulsa, OK (79.72)
7. Mobile, AL (79.55)
8. Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN (79.27)
9. Columbia, SC (79.22)
10. Lafayette, LA (78.97)