WTF Archives - Austin Vegas

Fat vs. Fit America I heard this on the news this morning and looked up the source. Men’s Health announced their annual Fittest vs. Fattest survey of major US cities. Miami tops the list this year of the Fattest – it must be all that Cuban and Latin food (now remember SoBe isn’t technically in the city of Miami).

Topping the list for Fittest surveyed is Salt Lake City, Utah!? I guess being bored might actually translate to health? Here’s the rest of the FIT list:

1. Salt Lake City, UT
2. Colorado Springs, CO
3. Minneapolis, MN
4. Denver, CO
5. Albuquerque, NM
6. Portland, OR
7. Honolulu, HI
8. Seattle, WA
9. Omaha, NE
10. Virginia Beach, VA
11. Milwaukee, WI
12. San Francisco, CA
13. Tucson, AZ
14. Boston, MA
15. Cleveland, OH
16. St. Louis, MO
17. Austin, TX
18. Washington, DC
19. Sacramento, CA
20. Oakland, CA
21. Atlanta, GA
22. Fresno, CA
23. Tampa, FL
24. Nashville-Davidson, TN
25. Pittsburgh, PA

From Men’s Health:

In our exclusive 11th annual survey, a western city reached the top of the (ski) mountain, while a surprising sun-drenched Mecca needs to pull its head (and belly) out of the sand

For those familiar with the region, Salt Lake City’s selection as the Fittest City in America might not be much of a surprise. But even we were stunned when our Fattest City turned out to be 2,539 miles away from Salt Lake City, in Miami. Yes, Miami. Home of South Beach, with its images of tight bodies and scantily attired denizens. Yet despite a wide availability of local running and biking trails, Miamians are 35% less likely than the national average to actually use them.

This is just one of the many gaps between the Fittest and Fattest Cities in America. As we’ve done for more than a decade, MF collected and analyzed reams of data on the 50 most populated areas in the nation in an effort to determine just which cities take fitness the most seriously.

The Top FATTIES List:

1. Miami, FL
2. Oklahoma City, OK
3. San Antonio, TX
4. Las Vegas, NV
5. New York, NY
6. Houston, TX
7. El Paso, TX
8. Jacksonville, FL
9. Charlotte, NC
10. Louisville-Jefferson, KY
11. Memphis, TN
12. Detroit, MI
13. Chicago, IL
14. Dallas-Fort Worth, TX
15. San Jose, CA
16. Tulsa, OK
17. Baltimore, MD
18. Columbus, OH
19. Raleigh, NC
20. Philadelphia, PA
21. L.A.-Long Beach, CA
22. Phoenix-Mesa, AZ
23. Indianapolis, IN
24. San Diego, CA
25. Kansas City, MO
~~~~~~

New York, as you can see, is on the chubby chaser list, and this after correctly avoiding the top 10 for the last 2 years. This is wack and easily disproven by visual interpretation of the populous and of course rational thought. Some of MH’s reasoning:

The local commute is much more oppressive than in most cities â€” 54 percent more oppressive than average, leaving less time to exercise and prepare healthy meals. – Comparatively commutes are just as long in the subways as they are in other cities but I don’t think this survey takes into account the stress relief it is, to not have to drive to work, figure out parking, gas, car maintenance etc. Plus we’re open to concentrate on personal time while we commute, read or add some sleep.
Our survey has found 87 percent fewer sporting-goods stores in New York than average an indicator of an inactive populace. – Another reason this survey is flawed. This is a walking city and given the considerable amount of open/park space for the largest population in the nation, a count of sports stores in the concrete jungle is not indicative of actual use/purchases. Did they check sales figures too?
New York has one pool for every 135,648 residents â€” 207 percent fewer than average in our survey. – This is a personal peeve of mine as well, but not only pool action but clean, warm beach action is very sparse in these parts. Just because we’re not in the pool showing off, doesn’t mean we’re not laying out in the park getting naked.

Here’s more of the FATTEST List and some detail on New York:

1. Miami, FL
2. Oklahoma City, OK
3. San Antonio, TX
4. Las Vegas, NV
5. New York, NY
6. Houston, TX
7. El Paso, TX
8. Jacksonville, FL
9. Charlotte, NC
10. Louisville-Jefferson, KY

Additional details of some of my favorite cities including NYC, also on the the 2009 veeter’s list:

#4 Las Vegas, NV (I guess there’s not enough anorexic strippers and crackheads in this town to counter balance out the fat lazy gamblers)

# Fitness Centers & Sport Stores: A-
# Nutrition: B-
# Sports Participation: F+
# TV Viewing: F
# Overweight/Sedentary: F+
# Junk Food: F
# Air Quality: C-
# Geography: B
# Commute: D+
# Parks & Open Space: D-
# City Rec Facilities: F+
# Access to Healthcare: F
# Motivation: C-
# Mayor & City Initiatives: C+
# State Obesity Initiatives: D+

#5 New York, NY

# Fitness Centers & Sport Stores: F – Do Duane Reade stores count?
# Nutrition: D – eh, there are way too many good restaurants here. People binge and purge.
# Sports Participation: D+
# TV Viewing: B – no one is home to watch TV
# Overweight/Sedentary: C-
# Junk Food: A – YES! not having a BB King or Taco Hell on every corner helps.
# Air Quality: C-
# Geography: F+
# Commute: F+ – again, I walk for a commute so how is this not healthy?
# Parks & Open Space: F – Note they didn’t review the link above = Fail
# City Rec Facilities: F+
# Access to Healthcare: F+ – I can attest to this one
# Motivation: B – If seeing a Victoria Secret model walk down the street every day is not motivation to get fit, I’m sure you can find you’re own here.
# Mayor & City Initiatives: C-
# State Obesity Initiatives: A

What’s Good
Fast food, widely implicated as a contributor to obesity, is less common in New York than most places in our survey. In a per capita comparison there are 73 percent fewer fast-food joints here than average.

New York has “snack tax” laws aimed at reducing obesity and improving nutrition.

New York is one of 28 states that participate in a CDC-sponsored program to reduce obesity and other chronic diseases.

New York has 78 percent fewer pizza places per capita than the average among cities in our survey (this is shocking – I guess they didn’t go into Brooklyn for this survey?).

Donuts are 68 percent less popular here than average (Hello! Dunkin Donuts > Starbucks here), according to a comparison of places where they are sold. New York has the 7th lowest number of donut outlets per capita in our survey.

Ice cream shops are 82 percent less popular in New York than average. (We have helado carts)

What’s Not
The local commute is much more oppressive than in most cities – 54 percent more oppressive than average, leaving less time to exercise and prepare healthy meals. Commuter stress may also raise levels of cortisol, a hormone linked to weight gain and other health problems. (It should be noted that many New Yorkers walk regularly during segments of their commute.)

New York has 1,800 municipal parks, among the fewest of any city on a per capita basis, according to our exclusive survey of municipal park departments. (WOW! so they went by number of parks, not by size. In that case shouldn’t Central and Prospect be 200 each?)

New York’s park acreage per capita is 79 percent lower than average and the 6th lowest in our survey. Research has found a connection between access to parks and green space and reduced obesity rates.

Health-food stores are rare in New York: There’s one for every 28,632 residents, nowhere near the national average of one store per 12,118 people.

Golfers are limited to 12 city-owned courses. Relative to population, that’s less than almost anywhere else we surveyed. (YES! TELL ME ABOUT IT -THIS SUCKS!)

Feel like hitting the public pool for a morning swim? Good luck finding one. New York has one pool for every 135,648 residents – 207 percent fewer than average in our survey.

There are 143 percent fewer tennis courts per capita here than average among cities in our survey. (YES! TELL ME ABOUT IT -THIS ALSO SUCKS!)

Our survey has found 87 percent fewer sporting-goods stores in New York than average an indicator of an inactive populace.

On a per capita basis, New York has 66 percent fewer gyms and health clubs than average, the 3rd lowest in our survey.

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