These South Carolina cities are among the ‘fattest’ in the country, study finds

Four South Carolina cities and metro areas are among the “fattest” in the country, a recent study found, and three ranked in the top 20.

Columbia was the ninth fattest, followed by Myrtle Beach in 17th. The Greenville-Anderson-Mauldin metro area was the 19th most overweight, and Charleston came in leanest of the large South Carolina cities at 26th, according to the study.

And the Augusta-Richmond County metro area, located on the border of Georgia and South Carolina, also landed at 16th on the list, the study found.

While the Palmetto State certainly pulled its weight in the rankings, the most rotund metro area of all is deep in the heart of Texas, the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission area, the study found.

Using 19 “key indicators,” the study from financial website WalletHub, compared and contrasted 100 of the “most populated U.S. metro areas,” to determine the rankings.

Some factors considered were the percentage of obese adults in a community, rates of physical activity, cholesterol levels, blood pressure, the number of diabetics, and fruit and vegetable consumption.

Obesity is continuing to worsen nationwide, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. From 2000 to 2018, the percentage of obese adults grew from 30 percent to 42 percent, according to the CDC. ”Severe obesity” nearly doubled during that time period as well from 4.7 percent to 9.2 percent.

This trend has consequences for Americans’ physical health, but also their financial well-being, as medical costs for obese people are $1,429 higher than those at a healthy weight, according to the CDC.