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Men's Fitness magazine announced the top 25 fittest and fattest cities in America. Baltimore (huh?) beat out cities like Honolulu, Colorado Springs, Tucson, San Francisco and Seattle to claim the top spot.
Where did LA rank in the top 25 fittest, you ask? Well, it didn't. It made the other list. The city of supermodels -- a/k/a liposuction central -- ranked as the third fattest city in America, only topped by Chicago and Las Vegas. Last year, LA came in at no. 21. So folks, we've gained a few pounds since then.
The article discusses the issue of obesity in terms of a public health problem -- and not just a personal overindulgence issue:
...a growing number of medical experts started looking at America's fat epidemic as a public-health problem, exploring connections between people's waistlines and things like the environment they live in. Eight years later, open any public-health journal or visit any research conference today and you'll and a growing body of evidence that the causes of obesity are all around us, from limited recreational opportunities to air pollution, TV watching, zoning that allows too many drive-thrus, and an epidemic of less and less time to exercise.
So while we start pleading with our politicos to start cleaning our air, providing more parks, etc., it still won't hurt to put down that second Krispy Kreme this morning.
After the jump see both lists in their entirety.
The fittest and fattest cities in America in the annual survey by Men's Fitness magazine, with cities in order of ranking, and 2005 rankings in parentheses. An asterisk () denotes that last year's ranking was on the opposite list:
TOP 25 FITTEST CITIES:
1. Baltimore (25)
2. Honolulu (2)
3. Virginia Beach, Va. (12)
4. Tucson, Ariz. (8)
5. Milwaukee (15)
6. Colorado Springs, Colo. (3)
7. San Francisco (4)
8. Seattle (1)
9. Louisville-Jefferson, Ky. (not ranked)
10. Boston (11)
11. Sacramento, Calif. (7)
12. Nashville-Davidson, Tenn. (25)
13. Albuquerque (10)
14. Tulsa, Okla. (22)
15. Phoenix (12)
16. Atlanta (23)
17. Portland, Ore. (6)
18. Washington (23)
19. Oakland, Calif. (20)
20. Denver (5)
21. Minneapolis (13)
22. Arlington, Texas (22)
23. Austin, Texas (19)
24. Jacksonville, Fla. (18)
25. Omaha, Neb. (16)
TOP 25 FATTEST CITIES:
1. Chicago (5)
2. Las Vegas (9)
3. Los Angeles (21)
4. Dallas (6)
5. Houston (1)
6. Memphis, Tenn. (4)
7. Long Beach, Calif. (20)
8. El Paso, Texas (11)
9. Kansas City, Mo. (18)
10. Mesa, Ariz. (15)
11. Indianapolis (13)
12. San Antonio (10)
13. Fort Worth, Texas (14)
14. Miami (19)
15. Detroit (3)
16. Columbus, Ohio (16)
17. Oklahoma City (21)
18. Cleveland (24)
19. Wichita, Kan. (17)
20. Charlotte, N.C. (24)
21. San Diego (9)
22. Fresno, Calif. (14)
23. Philadelphia (2)
24. San Jose, Calif. (17)
25. New York (8)
SOURCE: Men's Fitness
Flickr photo courtesy of Josh Thompson
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See, anyone who doesn't know that Los Angeles is a fabulously obese city obviously never spends much time east of La Brea. The FIRST thing I noticed when I came to Los Angeles and moved into Koreatown (forgive me, I was stupid) was how fat all the Hispanic women were--and a lot of the men, too.
Oh, and let's not even talk about exurbia. Most Inland Empire residents make Wisconsin natives look svelte.
As counterintuitive as it sounds: it's cheaper to be fat in the USA in 2006.
That's right. If you're rich, you eat goat cheese and beet salads with sliced tenderloin, accompanied by a moderately priced wine from Trader Joe's, or perhaps a Diet Snapple. You stay somewhat thinner. (Just ask Dr. Atkins. No, wait, don't do that, he's dead.)
If you're poor, you eat tortilla chips, or pizza, or corn dogs, or Little Debbie cakes, all washed down with a nice 32 ounce Pepsi. See? No vegetables, no fresh fruit. No lean meats. Just processed sugar, corn syrup, preservatives and bleached flour.
Or if you're Mexican, you're thriving on tortillas, rice and beans, with a little smattering of carnitas on top, and maybe a shred of iceberg lettuce, if you're lucky. Carbohydrate city.
This stuff makes you fat, but it's way more affordable than eating salads, fruit compote, broiled chicken and ratatouille, which is what people should be eating. Do I sound like I've swallowed the low-carb Kool-Aid (pun semi-intended)? Well, I guess so.
Yes diet is obviously a big factor on making people fat but I think this part of the article hits the nail on the head "causes of obesity are all around us, from limited recreational opportunities to air pollution, TV watching, zoning that allows too many drive-thrus, and an epidemic of less and less time to exercise."
People are so lazy these days it's unreal. Everything has to be instant, that's the kind of society it is. People want their food and they want it now, that's why we drive to fast food restaurants, eat in front of the tv etc.
You can still eat junk food and not be fat. I do and I have friends that do too.You just got to exercise once in a while to get rid of love handles. It can be a walking to your neighbours or playing a bit of football or shoot some hoops with your friends instead of veging in front of the tv after dinner. That's putting a simple twist on it but it doesn't have to be difficult.