Disturbing look inside small idyllic Texas town that has a BIG secret

IFLScience

This small, little-known Texas town has a big problem.
McAllen is the most obese town in America, with an astonishing nearly eight in 10 adults either obese or overweight.
But in the US, as she was forced to eat the free school meals, her addiction to fast food grew.
As they drive through the city, Ammar says in one area, he counts six fast food restaurants in a two block radius.
Like Alejandra, other McAllen residents say the ease of fast food is a big problem.

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There’s a big problem in this little-known Texas town.

Nearly eight out of ten adults in McAllen are obese or overweight, making it the most obese town in America.

Along with having the second-highest percentage of obese children, it also has the second-highest percentage of obese teens among all US cities.

Diabetes, heart disease, and weight-related cancers have all increased dramatically in recent years as a result.

Now, a startling documentary has revealed the epidemic ravaging this border town and the devious marketing strategies used by junk food manufacturers to lure residents into starving themselves to death.

Alejandra, a resident of McAllen who used to weigh 270 pounds, is seated with filmmakers from the Yes Theory YouTube channel in one scene.

By the age of twenty-eight. They [the doctors] gave me roughly five good years before deciding they couldn’t predict how things would turn out for me because my organs were beginning to fail. “.”.

Alejandra, who does not give her last name, grew up in Mexico, which is only ten miles away, like many McAllen residents.

She says that after overindulging in unhealthy school meals like pizza, chicken, nuggets, and burgers as a child, she began gaining weight.

Alejandra claimed that she ‘never got any processed food’ growing up in her native country and was raised on the food prepared by her mother and grandmother.

Her addiction to fast food, however, increased while she was compelled to eat the free school meals in the US.

“I gained a lot of weight between first and fifth grade,” she said. “…

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Although Alejandra does not disclose how she lost weight, she seems healthier in the documentary.

When asked why McAllen has such a high obesity rate, Alejandra explains that it is mostly because the area has a high rate of poverty and fast food is the least expensive way to sate hunger pangs.

McAllen, a community of about 146,000 people along the southeast portion of the Rio Grande Valley, had a poverty rate of just under 21 percent in 2024, which is about twice the national average.

When people are “running out of cash” at the end of each month, Alejandra reveals, all of McAllen’s fast food restaurants advertise sales with “wings for 25 cents on Wednesdays [or] tacos for 50 cents on Tuesdays.”.

Ammar, the filmmaker, expresses his indignation at this by saying: “That is so sick.”. I’m considering how deceptive this is. Naturally, you will come here if you are a parent and don’t have a lot of money to support your family.

The fact that you are taking advantage of people’s situations to simply seize a family and invite them to spend money here is malicious. “.”.

Approximately 45% of McAllen’s adult population over the age of 18 is obese, compared to 40% nationwide, and 31% of McAllen residents are overweight.

This means that 76 percent of adults are overweight.

While driving through the city, Ammar reports that he can count six fast food restaurants within two blocks of one another.

Alejandra and other McAllen locals agree that the convenience of fast food is a major issue.

One woman the Yes Theory team spoke with in a grocery store claims that while it is challenging to avoid city drive-thrus, she makes an effort to cook more at home for her kids.

A man who is also browsing the aisles explains that because so many US products are highly processed, shopping at the grocery store isn’t all that much better than eating fast food.

‘You put a little heart on [the box], people are just assuming it’s healthy and that’s not really the case because the moment you put some sugar on it or anything frosted,’ he says, gesturing to a box of Cheerios in the cereal aisle. It doesn’t matter; it’s unhealthy.

“Even” if you receive standard Cheerios. All of that sugar is still being put into your body. “.”.

The same serving size of Honey Nut flavor contains 18g of sugar, compared to 2g in one and a half cups of Original Cheerios.

The unnamed man in the movie claims that many McAllen residents “are restricted by price tags” because purchasing healthier products also costs more.

Getting healthier products isn’t always possible when you’re living paycheck to paycheck, he continues. “…

Medical student Surya Namboodiri is one McAllen resident who is more knowledgeable about diet.

However, she informs the Yes Theory team that she had to educate herself on the subject because she didn’t learn about it in school.

“Nutrition is essentially not in our curriculum at all,” she discloses. In our four years of medical school, we might receive one or two hours. “…

Ms. Namboodiri claims that the obesity epidemic in McAllen is being exacerbated by this lack of education.

It’s unfair to simply point fingers at people and ask them, “Why are you not doing this, why are you letting these bad habits control your lives?” she continues.

They have to consider the infrastructure and the lack of access to these healthier food options in addition to their personal preferences.

Additionally, we’re failing to educate people about what constitutes an unhealthy diet. Saying “oh you need to eat healthier” isn’t enough; they have no idea what that means. They only know what they were fed as children. “.”.

After studying McAllen, the filmmakers state that they think the fast food issue is a national problem rather than a city-specific one.

Ammar ends by saying, “We went into the investigation of McAllen with the idea that there was something unique about this town.”.

However, after talking to the locals and discussing the matter with specialists, we gradually became more conscious of the fact that this is not a McAllen problem; rather, it is an American problem that has permeated every city in the nation.

“But we also learned from this experience that there is hope for those who are dealing with weight issues.”.

We can regain control of our quality of life and end the unhealthy cycle we seem to be in by becoming knowledgeable about the systems that are in place and learning how to better our diet and general health. “…

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