Stoke was found to have a high ratio of pubs to people

The city beat Liverpool into second place and Wolverhampton into third to take the unwanted accolade.

The study, which was conducted by Men's Health magazine, found that nearly a quarter of Stoke's residents are obese and that the city has a high ratio of pubs to people.

The survey ranked 22 cities according to people's diet, obesity, activity levels, heart disease and amenities.

Heavyweight Scots

It is not all bad news for Stoke-on-Trent though - locals generally eat less fat than in many other cities and the study found the city has plenty of gyms and leisure centres.

Stoke is not the portliest place in the UK - Glasgow and Edinburgh pushed the city into third place overall in the UK fat stakes.

Paula Hawley, healthy city manager for Stoke-on-Trent, said: "We have developed an obesity strategy to improve health in the city.

"Initiatives include exercise on prescription."

She added that they also have health promotion in schools.