Health and Healthcare

This Is America's Least Obese City

Douglas A. McIntyre

Published: October 2, 2021 8:34 am

Last Updated: October 4, 2021 10:27 am

A new study from the CDC shows that last year, 35% or more adults had obesity in 16 states. Most were in the South and Midwest. In some states, the figure was closer to 40%. Data show that the numbers are highest among the poor and some ethnic groups. A different CDC report showed that the annual medical cost of obesity was $147 billion in 2008. Every single yardstick of obesity in America shows that it is getting worse.

Obesity status is determined by body mass index, or BMI — a ratio of height to body weight. Americans with a BMI of 30 or higher are considered obese. Obesity increases the risk of diabetes, stroke, hypertension, heart disease, breathing problems, certain cancers, and mortality, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Obesity can also detract from the overall quality of life and contribute to depression, anxiety, and other mental illnesses.

While the U.S. has one of the highest obesity rates in the world, there are parts of the country where obesity remains relatively uncommon. Using data from County Health Rankings & Roadmaps, 24/7 Tempo identified the least obese metropolitan area in the United States.

Though many factors, including genetics, diet, and medical conditions, contribute to increased risk of obesity, regular physical activity is one of the best ways to help maintain a healthy weight. In all but a handful of metro areas on this list, the share of adults who do not exercise regularly is below the 22.7% share of adults nationwide.

Boulder, Colorado, has the lowest obesity rate of any metro. Here are the details:

• Adult obesity rate: 14.3%
• Adults who don’t exercise: 8.9% (the lowest of 384 metros)
• Adults with diabetes: 5.5% (second lowest)
• Adults reporting poor or fair health: 11.2% (the lowest)

Methodology: To determine America’s least obese metro, 24/7 Tempo reviewed county-level adult obesity rates from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute joint program’s 2021 County Health Rankings & Roadmaps report.

The adult obesity rate is defined as the share of adults 20 years and older who report a body mass index of 30 kg/m2 or higher. We aggregated county-level statistics to metropolitan statistical areas. While the CHR report is from 2021, obesity rate figures are from 2017.

We used the 384 metropolitan statistical areas as delineated by the United States Office of Management and Budget and used by the Census Bureau as our definition of metros.

Metros were ranked based on the adult obesity rate. Additional information on the share of adults that report no leisure-time physical activity, the share of adults that are diagnosed with diabetes, and the share of adults that report fair or poor health are also from the 2021 CHR.

Click here to see all of America’s least obese metros.