You guys didnt let me down! Way to go! btw, I read in the San Antonio paper this morning that we (S.A.) are also the LEAST athletic city in the U.S....but just NOT the fattest you fatty fat Houstonians! So eat up H-town! Houston Named Fattest City, Again It's the fourth time that the Bayou City has received the title. Last year, Houston was ranked second, behind Detroit. The 2005 rankings are as follows. 1. Houston 2. Philadelphia 3. Detroit 4. Memphis 5. Chicago 6. Dallas 7. New Orleans 8. New York 9. Las Vegas 10. San Antonio The magazine said one of the reasons Houston topped the list was because it has more fast food restaurants per capita than any other city in the country. Houston Mayor Bill White has big plans to move Houston off the fat list. He said our weather could be a big help to help the city shape up. "It's been in the 70s for the last two weeks. I work out year-round, as do a lot of other Houstonians. This is a great city for year-round weather," White said. During an afternoon news conference, White said he disagrees with the ranking and called the system flawed. "They've been serving up this propaganda for so long that I'm not sure one more year being (ranked) one or two is going to be a big change. What is going to be a change is when we turn it around," he said. White launched a wellness initiative Wednesday called "Get Moving Houston." The fittest cities, according to Men's Fitness magazine, are as follows. 1. Seattle 2. Honolulu 3. Colorado Springs 4. San Francisco 5. Denver The 50 largest U.S. cities were assessed in 14 categories, including the number of gyms, fast-food restaurants, the amount of exercise, alcohol consumption, television viewing habits, climate, parks and recreational facilities. http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/kprc/20050105/lo_kprc/2523944
I guess McDonalds offering the healthy salads along with the pedometers didn't work then? I guess the Rockets have been winning to many of those free big mac nights. NO MORE BIG MAC NIGHTS FOR ROCKETS FANS!
these studies are such a crock. whats' not mentioned in the article is that bill white said the study was a sham and called it a "fraud." what a worthless waste. but it garners media attention for the magazine every year.
oh and here's a wierd personal fact. I weighed myself after 15 months of moving from Houston to San Antonio and I am actually 8 lbs lighter!! (H-town weighed 165, S.A. weight is 157!) This is AMAZING since there are taco places on EVERY freakin ' block of my neighborhood. Beef and BBQ and Brisket and Chorizo and Papas and eggs on every corner you need! ITs YUMMY!!! Although my exercise is cycling and I live right on the Mission Trails which is sort of like an extended Bayou going south of San Antonio with zero cars for 20 miles....its great! This might help with the burning calories i guess.
I dunno about TOTAL crap but some of they do cover a number of issues that would seem pertinent: Gyms/Sporting Goods Composite score, equally weighing (a) total number of clubs, gyms and fitness studios ranked per 100,000 population, from YellowPages.com; and (b) total number of sporting-goods retailers ranked per 100,000 population, from YellowPages.com. Nutrition Composite score, equally weighing (a) average frequency of fruit and vegetable consumption (percent that consumes five or more servings per day) in state-level data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System; and (b) total number of health-food stores ranked per 100,000 population, from YellowPages.com. Exercise/Sports Total participation in 103 sports and fitness-related activities. Measured by participants per 100 residents for the top 30 metropolitan statistical areas and by state. State-level data used for Austin, Charlotte, Jacksonville, Las Vegas, Memphis, Nashville, Oklahoma City, San Antonio, Tulsa and Wichita. Honolulu, not surveyed, was given an average score. Data from the Superstudy of Sports Participation Geographic Supplement, from American Sports Data Inc. Overweight/Sedentary Composite score according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, equally weighing (a) percentage of state population that is obese; (b) percentage of state population at risk for health problems related to being overweight; (c) percentage of state population at risk for health problems related to lack of exercise; and (d) percentage of state population not participating in physical activity. Junk Food Total number of fast-food outlets, pizza parlors, ice cream shops and doughnut stores ranked per 100,000 population, from YellowPages.com. Alcohol Composite score, equally weighing (a) total number of bars/taverns ranked per 100,000 population, from YellowPages.com; and (b) apparent alcohol consumption by state, from the surveillance report of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. TV Metered Market HUT (Homes Using Television) Analysis, Primetime, June 1, 2002, through May 31, 2003, from Nielsen Media Research. Average scores assigned to Albuquerque, Austin, El Paso, Fresno, Honolulu, Jacksonville, Tulsa, Omaha and Wichita. Air Quality....er...couhg!cough! Houston! The air-quality index is based on annual reports from the Environmental Protection Agency. The number of ozone-alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of pollutants, including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. From Sterling's Best Places. Climate The climate index is based on National Weather Service data combining estimated annual days above 32 degrees and below 90 degrees, amounts of precipitation and sunshine, and the August heat/humidity index. Geography Accessible recreational forests, lakes, rivers, waterways, mountains, and ocean beaches, compiled from almanacs and additional sources. Commute Based on the Travel Time Index, which measures traffic delays due to congestion, according to the Urban Mobility Report from the Texas Transportation Institute at Texas A&M University. Average score for small cities assigned to Tulsa and Wichita. Parks/Open Space Composite score, equally weighing (a) total acreage per 10,000 population of federal and state recreation areas plus all listed water areas, from the Places Rated Almanac; (b) number of city parks per 10,000 population, according to a 2003 Men's Fitness custom survey; and (c) acres of city parks and recreational open space per 10,000 population, according to a 2003 Men's Fitness custom survey. Recreation Facilities Composite score based on totals per 10,000 population, from a 2003 Men's Fitness custom survey, equally weighing (a) number of public basketball courts; (b) number of public swimming pools; (c) number of public tennis courts; and (d) number of public golf courses. Health Care Based on city-by-city ranking of health resources and access as measured by Places Rated Almanac. >>>>>That being said, they got this REPORT CARD: Houston, TX >Healthy Habits Fitness Centers/Sporting Goods Stores>C Nutrition>B Exercise/Sports Participation>F >Risk Factors Alcohol>C TV Watching>F Overweight/Sedentary>D Junk Food>D >Environment Air>F ClimateD Geography>F >Urban Attributes Commute>D Parks/Open Space>D+ Recreation Facilities>D Health CareC
i'm betting these guys never stepped foot in houston. just a guess. extrapolating out from data like that is hardly scientific.
In my experience, I think you find the biggest fatties in the deep South and in parts of the upper Midwest. The least fatassed region I think is the Pacific Northwest and California and then the Mountain states, with the middle atlantic, New England, and the Plains states tending to be in between.
