SC has 4 of the most obese cities in the US for 2024, new report shows. Here’s where and how bad

Patrick McCreless
·2 min read
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Four South Carolina cities have among the fastest growing waistlines in the U.S., a new report shows.

According to the study by Wallethub, a major personal finance website, the Palmetto State has four of the most obese cities in the nation for 2024. Wallethub compiled the report, given that March is National Nutrition Month.

Currently, nearly 42% of U.S. adults are obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And that rate of obesity comes at a price.

The estimated annual health care costs of obesity-related illness are $190.2 billion or about 21% of annual medical spending in the U.S. Another approximately $4.3 billion is lost annually due to productivity losses and work absenteeism.

To call attention to communities struggling the most with weight-related problems, Wallethub compared 100 of the most populated U.S. metro areas across 19 key metrics, ranging from the share of physical inactive adults to projected obesity rates by 2030 and healthy food access.

So, which South Carolina cities made it onto the list and how did they rank?

Most obese SC cities

  • 12th — Columbia

  • 24th — Greenville

  • 26th — Myrtle Beach

  • 29th — Charleston

Source: WalletHub

Here are the category rankings that earned Columbia its spot at 12th most obese city in the U.S. for 2024.

  • 16th — percentage of overweight adults

  • 34th — percentage of obese adults

  • 34th — percentage of physically inactive adults

  • 10th — percentage of adults with high cholesterol

  • 35th — percentage of adults with low fruit/vegetable consumption

  • 15th — percentage of adults with diabetes

  • 32nd — percentage of adults with high blood pressure

Methodology

Wallethub compared 100 of the most populated U.S. metro areas across three key dimensions: obesity & overweight, health consequences and food & fitness. Those dimensions were evaluated using 19 relevant metrics with data pulled from a variety of sources, including the U.S. Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the CDC, county health rankings, U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative.