Health surveys carried out in the area suggest that the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission Metropolitan Area (MSA) in Texas will be the fattest city in the US in 2022. The city of 775,000 people has a 44.9% obesity rate, according to data.

Texas community ranked number one in terms of having the poorest dietary and fitness habits. McAllen has one of the lowest rates of adult physical activity. In the metro area, 36.9% of adults reported being physically inactive. Furthermore, McAllen residents also reported consuming far fewer fruits and vegetables than the national average, giving it its unhappy position at the top of this list. It also placed fifth in the rate of health consequences brought on by being overweight or obese and sixth in the rate of overweight/obesity.

Memphis, Tennessee, is right behind McAllen in terms of the weight and associated health problems of its population. More than 70% of citizens live in obesity or overweight conditions, and the city came in sixth for the percentage of physically inactive adults.

Memphis has a population of 650,000, which means that roughly 500,000 of its citizens are overweight. The good news is that Memphis understands exactly what its issues are. In an effort to encourage healthy living, the city has been actively building greenways and providing support for farmers' markets. And these efforts have already helped Memphis, which was the fattest city in the US until 2012, to drop out of the top rank.

In 2022, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, which is the third-fattest city in the US, will have an obesity rate of more than 33%. Despite a long history of health issues brought on by being overweight, Baton Rouge has had trouble losing weight.

On the list of America's fattest cities, the city has regrettably moved from position #9 to position #3 over the past three years. Lack of availability to fresh fruits and vegetables is a significant problem for people of Baton Rouge. Of all US cities, this one eats fresh food at the third-lowest rate. Processed food is known to cause weight gain, which helps to explain why Baton Rouge continues to face serious problems.

Little Rock, Arkansas, was named the fattest city in America in 2018. Therefore, the region's drop to the fourth position shows that substantial progress has been achieved. In fact, the city's obesity rate has been decreasing rather than increasing in recent years, going against the general trend.

That's due in large part to policies that have been implemented to reduce citizens' waistlines. For example, all Arkansas schools are now required to implement physical education programs and to offer their young kids meals that follow certain nutritional recommendations. In order to build greenways that promote bicycling and walking, the state of Arkansas and the city of Little Rock have also teamed up.

Louisiana ranks among the top ten states in the United States – many of which are in the south - for both adult and childhood obesity. For the percentage of obese adults, Shreveport and the nearby Bossier City, Louisiana, came in at number 13 in the US.

Despite this, both cities ranked fifth on the list of the fattest because they had the second-highest number of citizens with high blood pressure and the nation's overall steepest rates of residents with high cholesterol. The 250,000 inhabitants of the region face serious health risks as a result of these two factors combining together. Shreveport may be one of the nation's fattest cities, but there is some noticeable improvement in 2021. Residents have started making an effort to modify their dietary habits.

Birmingham, Alabama, has a number of problems that make it the sixth fattest city in the US. Most locals rely on convenience stores for their meals, therefore they have little to no access to fresh fruits and vegetables. A CDC study revealed that over 31% of residents had not participated in any physical exercise in the previous 30 days.

In general, obesity rates have risen dramatically in Alabama in recent years. Only 22.6% of people in the state were obese in 2000. At the present, that rate exceeds 36%. Despite the fact that this statistic has not changed since 2018, Alabama and the city of Birmingham have not yet succeeded in encouraging their citizens to lose weight.

In 2017, Jackson, Mississippi, ranked second in the nation for clinical obesity and was the fattest city. As a result, it has dropped significantly, ranking #7 this year.

But, Jackson has a long way to go. Over 50% of adults in the metropolitan area are obese, and over 25% of the population has diabetes. Additionally, local healthcare expenses have risen recently, mostly as a result of weight-related health issues. Greenways and other efforts to encourage citizens to lose weight are being designed by the city, but it may take some time before Jackson is successful in changing the tide against obesity.

Along with Birmingham, Mobile is the second Alabaman city to make the top 10. But unlike Birmingham, Mobile has seen an increase in the number of obese and overweight adults over the past few years. More than 36% of people in Mobile are obese now, and 24% of them also smoke.

The citizens of the city are at a very high chance of developing diabetes and heart disease as a result of this combination. In fact, Mobile has one of the highest rates of diabetes in the country 18%. Even though the state of Alabama has established a task force to fight the obesity problem, Mobile falls behind other cities in developing the necessary infrastructure for healthy living, such as greenways.

The smallest city on the list is Lafayette, Louisiana, which has a population of about 126,000. However, more than 28%, or 35,000, of those 126,000 residents are obese. In a small city where targeted interventions have the potential to make a significant effect, it is somewhat surprising that this rate has remained stable in recent years.

Lack of exercise and easy access to fat foods are the two biggest problems that Lafayette residents face. There isn't much recreation infrastructure in the city to facilitate citizens' walking or bicycling. At the same time, Lafayette is renowned for its high, frequently deep-fried, and calorie-dense Southern food.

The final city in the top ten list of America's fattest cities is Knoxville, Tennessee. The city is among the worst in the US for giving residents access to fresh fruits and vegetables, which has contributed to a 28.7% obesity rate.

Even while Knoxville is doing considerably better than nearby Memphis, residents could still need some weight loss. Heart disease prevalence in Knoxville is ranked 11th worst in the country, and 14% of residents have diabetes. What is important to note is that most obese cities are in the South. Studies suggest that the high rate of obesity in the South is largely linked to higher rates of poverty and unemployment.