The residents of Saint John are some of the fattest people in the country, according to a report released in the New Brunswick city on Tuesday, and the cause may be poverty.

The Vital Signs study, published by the Greater Saint John Community Foundation, found that compared against 10 other cities in Canada, Saint Johners have the highest obesity rate, at 24.4 per cent of the population over 15 years old.

The report-card-style findings track the quality of life of Canadian communities in terms of poverty gaps, health, housing and the environment.

Poverty in the community may be one of the key causes of obesity, said report co-writer Randy Hatfield, himself from Saint John.

"Is it inadequate income, low levels of education?" Hatfield asked. "Is it housing that takes up the vast percentage of income so there's nothing left over for food?"

The median income in Saint John of a lone-parent family is $25,800 annually, and $64,000 for a two-parent household.

For their part, school officials suggested that, when it comes to childhood and teenage obesity, there isn't enough access to recreational options outside of the school system.

The city needs to provide more well-funded, free opportunities for physical activity in neighbourhoods, said Gary Sullivan, principal of Lorne Middle School.

"I would just like to see them follow through on some of the things they've been talking about," he said.

"I think the plans are really good, but they're going to start talking about budgets soon and whether this is an important thing. We're talking about the future health, and building habits in the youth of our society."

The 48-page report uses a gold star rating system, where one star indicates an area in dire need of action and five stars shows the community is on track.

Saint John received no five-star scores in any of the measured areas.

Though the report shows Saint John is in dire need of corrective action in the areas of poverty, obesity and addiction services, the city's residents are advancing in other areas, said Jane Barry, executive director of the community foundation.

Completion of high school and post-secondary education is on the rise and the use of food banks is on the decline.

A low recidivism rate is also credited to the region's new mental health court. Approximately 82 per cent of the court's 170 participants have not re-offended. But there has been a 54-per-cent increase in crime since 1991, most of which has been fuelled by drugs and alcohol.

"It is valuable to look at yourselves with some scrutiny and determine how we're doing, so to speak," Barry said. "I don't think we can improve without looking at the big picture and year over year trying to identify are we making progress are we slipping behind."