California Metros Ranked Among The 'Slimmest' In America

Several California metros were recently ranked among the most and least obese places in America. The personal finance site WalletHub on Wednesday listed the nation’s 100 most populous metros based on 19 metrics across three categories: obesity and overweight, health consequences and food and fitness.

For a state that's often associated with health and fitness, it may come as no surprise to many that most of California's largest regions ranked among the least obese.

Overall, six California metros were included in the rankings. Only one of them ranked in the top half of the list — Riverside / San Bernardino / Ontario. The rest were towards the bottom of the list of the "fattest" places in the country:

• No. 36: Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario
• No. 81: Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim
• No. 83: Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade
• No. 84: San Diego-Carlsbad
• No. 86: San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara
• No. 100: San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward

Some California metros also were highlighted for their fitness, including the San Francisco area for having the lowest number of obese adults in the nation. That region also has the lowest number of American adults with high cholesterol and the lowest number of diabetic adults, according to the report.

Obesity and overweight, unsurprisingly, received the most weight (so to speak) in the rankings, accounting for 60 percent of the overall score. This category included metrics such as share of overweight and obese adults, teens and children.

Health consequences received the second highest weight, accounting for 25 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 accounted for 15 percent of the overall score and included metrics such as city friendliness toward an active lifestyle and share of adults who eat low amounts of fruits and vegetables.

The fattest place in America is the McCallen-Edinburg-Mission metro area in Texas. The metro ranked 2nd in obesity and overweight and No. 1 in food and fitness.

Here are the top 10 fattest regions in the nation:

1. McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX
2. Shreveport-Bossier City, LA
3. Memphis, TN-MS-AR
4. Jackson, MS
5. Mobile, AL
6. Tulsa, OK
7. Knoxville
8. Toledo, OH
9. Baton Rouge, LA
10. Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC

Many of the fattest cities were concentrated in the South and Southeast. Louisiana alone is home to four of the 15 fattest places: Shreveport-Bossier, Baton Rouge, Lafayette and New Orleans-Metairie.

Meanwhile, the West and parts of the Northeast tend to have tighter waistlines. This includes the San Francisco bay area, which ranked as the slimmest major metro in the country.

An adult is considered overweight if their body mass index, or BMI, falls between 25 and 30. An adult is obese if that number climbs higher than 30. You can calculate your BMI by dividing your weight in kilograms by the square of your height in meters.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said obesity stems from a range of factors, including genetics and behavior. Exercise — or lack thereof — can be a major contributor, along with medication and poor diet.

Obesity is also a “serious” health concern, the CDC said. About 40 percent of American adults are obese, or roughly 93.3 million people. It has been linked to poor mental health and a lower quality of life, and can lead to diabetes, heart disease, stroke and certain types of cancer.

— Patch national staffer Dan Hampton contributed to this report.