Birmingham is in the top 20 most obese local authority areas in the UK, new research has revealed.
The figures, based on hospital admission records for Type 2 diabetes - which is linked to poor diet and a lack of exercise and seen as a key indicator of obesity - also reveal Stoke-on-Trent as one of the fattest cities.
Birmingham ranks twentieth and Stoke eighth in the study, conducted by data analysts Experian.
Topping the league as the most obese city is Hull, the Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott's constituency, who himself suffers from Type 2 diabetes. Kingston-upon-Thames was the least obese.
Researchers identified bad health hotspots using a consumer classification system based on spending patterns, working history, housing, incomes and lifestyles.
They identified the worst areas as working class where residents have a poor education.
A spokesman for Experian said the research showed class and weight were linked, and that, because richer people had better education about health issues and more money, they would choose lower-fat and organic products.
"The research suggests a strong correlation between obesity and class, with higher instances of obesity occurring in welfare-borderline and welfare-dependent social types," he said.
"It would also therefore suggest a link between obesity and self-esteem.
"People who are actually struggling socially in life do tend to have low self-esteem which in turn is reflected in their diet and trends in obesity."
About 1.4 million people in the UK have Type 2 diabetes, another million are thought to have it without realising and the number of cases is set to double by 2010.
Working class people from South Asian backgrounds, who are known to have a genetic predisposition to Type 2 diabetes, were also highlighted in the study.
