Can I find a science-backed solution that can make a lasting difference for the people in the most obese city in America?

Today, I’m in the most obese city in America, McAllen, Texas.

Almost half the population of McAllen is classified as obese, leading to a crisis of health problems.

So, in the next 3 days, I’ve decided to get to know the people of McAllen to see if I can find out what’s causing this health crisis in the most obese city in America. Even if I have to knock on every door in the city to do it.

But that’s not all. I want to see if I can find a science-backed solution that can make a lasting difference for the people here.

To get started, I hit the road for my first step in this plan, getting to know the people of McAllen.

The Primary Contributor To Obesity In McAllen

After talking to the residents in the most obese city in America, most pointed to the food as the culprit.

So, it was time for me to check it out.

I quickly identified the problem.

While each meal looked like a generous helping of food, I was genuinely surprised by how long I could continue eating. The reason I could do so?

Each of those foods is highly processed and low in fiber, so I can eat a ton before I actually feel full.

What’s worse, these tasty foods hijack your brain’s reward system, delivering a rush of pleasure that disappears almost as fast as it comes — keeping you coming back for more.

And it doesn’t help that the portions are massive, tricking your brain into thinking you haven’t eaten as much as you really have. 

This makes it possible to eat over a thousand calories in one sitting but still feel like it was just a light snack.

Bottom line?

Not only did these meals have generous portions with a ton of hidden calories, but each one was absolutely delicious.

Addressing The Food Issue

Fortunately, I’m going to have help.

This is Kelly, our head Dietitian at Built with Science.

Kelly has helped thousands of our clients make life-lasting changes in their diets, so there’s no one better to help me with this ambitious project.

And I’ve scouted out a local business that seems like the perfect partner for our workshop: Fork to Fit.

Fork to Fit specializes in creating calorie-friendly meals to combat all the high-calorie fast food available in McAllen, the most obese city in America. And I’m hoping that if I can get them to cater our workshop, we’ll have a great offer to get people in the door.

By the way, here's an article showing you the food swaps you can make to stay full and lose fat faster.

Thankfully, they're on board.

So, with Alex and his team on board, we now had a great offer to promote to the people of McAllen. Free dinner, free Meals to take home, plus a free bag of Built With Science protein powder for anyone who shows up. All we have to do now is convince people to come.

But it turned out, even with our offer of free food, it wasn't easy.

Even Kelly was having a hard time trying to recruit people inside the mall.

Finally, after almost half a day of handing out flyers, we had over 20 people committed to showing up. 

Other Factors Contributing To Obesity In The Most Obese City In America

However, the more time I spent in McAllen, the less I suspected that all the problems the most obese city in America faced could be blamed on the food alone.

There seem to be several hidden problems contributing to the obesity problem. 

For starters, when I tried exploring McAllen one day, we realized pretty quickly that McAllen is pretty much a drive-only city with 4-lane roads covering most of the streets.

Pair that with sidewalks that would frequently end abruptly and pedestrian crossings where the buttons didn’t work, and you have a city where walking (the easiest fat loss exercise) as a form of transportation is basically not an option.

Even the buses only run once every hour.

It was almost like the city itself was trying to force the choice between staying inside your home or sitting down inside your car.

As a result, most people here are taking just a few thousand steps per day.

This means their bodies are not only burning fewer calories every day, but being this sedentary has also been shown to mess up your food choices.

Because eating for energy is less of a concern, your brain now thinks of food more as something consumed for pleasure, making you more likely to overeat.

Worst of all, moving this little is associated with increased risk of disease and death.

So while everyone in McAllen was blaming the food, I was quickly learning there are several hidden factors at play.

So, if I wanted to build a workshop that actually addresses all the challenges the most obese city in America is facing, I was gonna need to take my investigation to another level, and I had one more plan to try and get to know the people here even better.

Getting To Know The People Of McAllen Even Better

To do that, I knocked on doors and asked if I could cook them a healthy dinner.

Unfortunately, I ended up getting no bites on my offer ... literally.

That's when I decided to venture to another area, but here, the vibe was a little less welcoming.

Until I met Santos and Samantha, who welcomed me in.

Here's the highlight of our conversation:

• They weren't taught proper nutrition.
• The neighborhood was primarily made up of lower and middle-income families, which meant there would be ~10 restaurants to 1 gym in the area.
• The grocery stores don't sell fresh produce.

We ended up chatting well past dinner time.

And the next day, Kelly and I made the trip to our nearest grocery store to try and build a meal that’s not only healthy but overcomes some of the challenges they listed.

Cooking A Healthy Dinner For Samantha And Santos

Our meal of choice is Chicken Fajitas, a side of roasted veggies, and a surprise dessert.

But with low income being a big problem in the most obese city in America, I want to see if we can still eat healthy while remaining on a budget. We managed to do so by doing a couple of things:

• Buying in bulk
• Keeping an eye out for sales items
• Getting some of our veggies canned and frozen, which are not only cheaper but often more nutritious than buying them fresh

From this, we not only got the costs down to just $5 per person, but by paying close attention to the calorie labels, each fajita we make willl only pack around 100 calories, compared to a 300 calorie fajita you’d get from a restaurant.

This means Samantha and Santos could eat 3 of these and still have plenty of calories to spare ...

… the only thing is, I still have no idea if they’ll actually find them tasty.

Luckily, I still had one more secret weapon up my sleeve.

I had a delicious quesadilla on Day One, and I just had to know what they put into it to season their meat.

Thankfully, they were generous enough to let me take a little of the seasoning to help me add some authentic Mexican flavour to our chicken.

We even had the budget to add a dessert of greek yogurt topped with roasted apples, cinnamon, and sugar-free syrup. 

And by giving them access to our new BuiltWithScience+ app, fully equipped with a meal scanner to easily keep track of their calories and science-backed workouts they can do anywhere, I was starting to feel like this could genuinely be a new beginning for both of them.

And with everything I’ve learned so far, I genuinely felt I had a full grasp of the many factors leading to the most obese city in America's health and obesity problems. Which meant we only had one thing left to do before our time here was complete.

Time For The Presentation

On the big day, I filled the conference room with 40 bags of protein and over 120 prepped meals in preparation for (hopefully) 40 people. But with just 15 minutes before the workshop began and nobody here, I was starting to wonder if even Santos and Samantha would show up, and also ...

... "Was this really all for nothing?"

Either way, it was time to take matters into my own hands and ask people on the streets to come in.

TL;DR

• McAllen, Texas, is the most obese city in America, with nearly half its population classified as obese, largely due to the availability of highly processed, low-fiber, calorie-dense foods and oversized portions that distort hunger cues.
• Environment and infrastructure worsen the problem — the most obese city in America is designed for cars, not walking, with poor public transport and limited access to sidewalks, making daily physical activity challenging.
• Socioeconomic and educational barriers also play a role, as many residents lack proper nutrition education, have little access to fresh produce, and have limited resources for healthy living in general.
• To help address the issue, I paired up with Kelly (our head dietician) to offer a free nutrition workshop, offering free protein powder, dinner, and healthy meals to take home.

Takeaway

Visiting McAllen and getting to know the people here in the most obese city in America made me realize just how complex the obesity issue really is and all the invisible factors contributing to it.

I’ve tried my best to make a change, but what makes me truly hopeful are the people fighting for the community or taking that first step to try and make a lasting change in their own lives. And as for Santo and Samantha, let's just say I feel really excited about the changes they’ve committed to make.