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Richmond has an ‘obese city’ problem

Posted at 11:59 AM, Apr 07, 2014
and last updated 2014-04-07 12:18:41-04

RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR) – Metro-Richmond is home to more obese people than most other large communities in the nation, according to findings released by Gallup.

RichmondGallupThe survey company found 28.8  percent of the more than one million people who live in metro-Richmond were obese.

Richmond ranked as the third “Most Obese Major U.S. Community.”

Memphis, Tenn. (31.9 percent) and San Antonio, Texas (31.1 percent) were numbers one and two on the list.

“The average obesity rate for all large communities was 25.7 percent, almost two points below the national average,” Gallup reported.

Big cities on the “least obese” list include Denver, Colo., San Diego, Calif., San Jose, Calif. and San Francisco, Calif.

Boston, Miami and Washington, D.C. were also listed among the least obese cities.

Another least obese community sits less than an hour west of Richmond. While not large enough to appear on the “major cities” list, Charlottesville ranked as the third least obese community in the nation.

Its 18.7 percent obese rating put it just behind Boulder, Colo. and Naples. Fla. as the nation’s least obese communities, according to Gallup.

What do you think contributes to the Richmond area’s obesity problem? Click here to email us your thoughts or leave comments on the WTVR CBS 6 News Facebook page.

Click here to read more about Gallup’s survey methods.