Being told you’re number one is a great feeling, except when it’s not.

“To hear that we were considered one of the most overweight in the nation, that’s, that’s surprising and distressing,” Winston Crutchfield told Eyewitness News Saturday.

The “fattest city in America” was a designation given to the river city in 2011 by WalletHub. The study compared 100 of the most populated metro areas in the country.

But since then, Evansville has made some changes.

“Yeah, it is surprising for me to hear, because I just, I guess maybe many people took it to heart, you know. We got to do something about this,” one woman who withheld her name said.

Programs implemented in the city like Energize Evansville, and more recently, bike sharing, are clear attempts to get people out and moving.

“But, I think it’s because we started doing events, like outdoor events, 5k races, and we were really surprised once we started doing those at the number of events that are available locally now, and the of course, four years ago I wasn’t interested at all,” Crutchfield said.

Now six years after the “fattest city” title, the hard work seems to have paid off.

“And discovering that, becoming part of that has, has really been, has been a big lifestyle change for me,” Crutchfield said.

A new list from WalletHub features the current top ten “fattest cities,” and Evansville is nowhere to be found.

It may be one list, but even if the “fattest city” designation was inspiration for one person to make a change, then perhaps it was a good thing for Evansville.

“I want to stay around for my grandkids for a long time, and I want to be healthier, too, you know? So, killing two birds with one stone.”