4 SC cities have among highest obesity rates in the US, new report says. 3 are in top 15
South Carolinians love to eat, maybe a little too much.
The Palmetto State has some amazing foods and restaurants that make it hard to put down the fork, and as a result, among other factors, some cities are seeing scarily high obesity rates.
The latest data from the CDC shows that more than 1 in 3 adults in SC are obese.
And according to a recent study from WalletHub, a personal finance website that publishes data-driven research reports, SC has four cities that are nationally ranked for having the most overweight and obese people.
How cities are ranked
To find the fattest cities in the nation, WalletHub compared 100 of the most populated U.S. metro areas across three key categories, and the metrics that fall under each:
Obesity & Overweight
- Share of overweight and obese adults, teenagers and children
- Projected obesity rates by 2050
Health Consequences
- Share of adults with high cholesterol
- Share of adults with high blood pressure
- Share of adults with diabetes.
- Heart-disease rate
- Obesity-related death rate
Food & Fitness
- Share of adults with low fruit/vegetable consumption
- Share of residents who say they eat healthy
- Share of physically inactive adults
- Limited access to healty food
- City friendliness toward an active lifestyle
- Access to parks & recreational facilities
- Number of health educators and community health workers per capita
Here are the SC cities and their rankings under these categories:
Most overweight and obese cities in SC
All four SC cities that ranked nationally for obesity were in the top 50. Three cities made it to the top 15.
#11 Columbia
The state’s capital ranked highest overall in the state, and nearly landed in the top 10 nationally, ranking 11th. Columbia ranks 5th in the nation in the Food & Fitness category, 22nd in the Health Consequences category and 13th in the Obesity & Overweight category.
Because it’s the city with the highest overall rank in SC, more details were given about its ranking in the study.
According to WalletHub, Columbia’s biggest weight problems are pretty bad compared to other cities:
- #31 – % of Obese Adults
- #37 – % of Physically Inactive Adults
- #31 – % of Adults with High Cholesterol
- #35 – % of Adults with Low Fruit/Vegetable Consumption
- #17 – % of Adults with Diabetes
- #26 – % of Adults with High Blood Pressure
#15 Greenville
Greenville didn’t fall too far behind Columbia, as it ranked 15th in the nation. It ranked 9th in the Food & Fitness category, 38th in the Health Consequences category and 12th in the Obesity & Overweight category.
#17 Myrtle Beach
Myrtle Beach’s overall rank was 17th in the nation. It ranked 26th in the Food & Fitness category, 23rd in the Health Consequences category and 16th in the Obesity & Overweight category.
#31 Charleston
While Charleston is seeing lower rates of obesity compared to the other SC cities, it still ranked 31st nationally. It ranked 31st in the Food & Fitness category, 60th in the Health Consequences category and 31st in the Obesity & Overweight category.