Most of that I'd agree with, but I'm surprised to not see Boulder, CO in the top 25.

Boulder was not part of their survey. It's a very limited list.

Maybe they included the population of Boulder in the Denver sample. That would explain Denver's lofty placing.

Being a resident of Detroit and San Diego, I sure agree with their findings of those two cities!

I live in Colorado Springs, ranked 4th. Last year we were first. While we do have a large population of runners, bikers and people who are into fitness, we also have a large population of large people. I'm constantly amazed at the number of obese people I see almost everywhere I go. If my city is ranked so high, I can't begin to imagine places like Houston. Far too many Americans are simply fat and lazy. My wife deals with Europeans in her line of work and they are astounded at how many fat people there are in this country. They take pictures to show people when they go home.

One might want to read the methodolgy for the study before crucifying or uplifiting any cities. http://www.mensfitness.com/...t/010203/method.html It's not like they went around with a pair of calipers and judged people's body fat percentages. In fact actual CDC numbers for obesity were only one of 16 categories used in the rankings. Not exactly a real scientific study, but one that sells magazines.

Mark in Houston

" "they are astounded at how many fat people there are in this country. They take pictures to show people when they go home. " I've heard this before. Apparently Japanese tourists do the same thing since nobody back home would believe them.

I was not meaning to crucify Houston. My point was that Americans in general are far more obese than the rest of the world. So much so, that others ridicule us. Almost all of us in this sport have made a choice to be fit. I'm sure we've all heard other people say, "I wish I could do that". I always want to say that wishing won't make it happen - doing is what makes it happen. With all that is known and reported on the serious health consequences of obesity, there is no good excuse for the vast numbers of fat people.

 

"there is no good excuse for the vast numbers of fat people."

I'm sure the fast food industry has a lot to do with it. Not only the low nutritional value of high fat take out food but also ridiculously large portions. It's also a world of two working parents and it's too easy to throw a high fat frozen whatever into the microwave than take the time after a hard day of work to prepare a nutritrious meal. What is scarey is the young kids. One study claims that in some areas teenage obesity is up to 40% compared to 10% only 30 yrs. ago. Too many kids playing computer games and not being active.


A much as I hate Bin Laden and his ilk, they do make a point when they say we're getting soft.

The fast food industry doesn't force people to eat their food. People are also not forced into buying high fat microwave meals. There are other options. Subway's is making a killing by advertising how healthy their food is. It is possible to get a good low fat meal there. It is also possible to by microwave meals like Lean Cuisine and Smart Ones that contain very little fat and are actually pretty good.

Too many kids are fat and it's not just teenagers. My 5 year old son takes swim lessons with many overweight kids under the age of ten. His school is loaded with fat kids. Most of the problem is the fault of the parents. My son doesn't like to eat at McDonald's and others, we only go for the toy in the meal. He also doesn't like soda, french fries and a lot of other crap that many parents let their kids eat.

He plays video games, but he also plays outside quite a bit. He's ridden his bike as far as 10 miles and has run in a couple of mile long races. I'm hopeful his swimming will improve to the point where he can do some kiddie tris this summer. He also plays baseball, soccer, and skis. I'm 47 and if I'm still able to keep up with by the time he's 10 I'll be doing good.

As I said before, there is no good excuse for the vast number of fat people. Almost all of them got fat and remain fat through laziness and improper eating and both can be corrected if they were willing to put forth the effort required.

I've heard this before. Apparently Japanese tourists do the same thing since nobody back home would believe them.

The Japanese are getting bigger as well and though it is rare you do see the occasion obese one. There is a direct correlation (in Japan) with the adoption of a western diet (which means essentially McDonalds and Coke) and increased size and weight.

Cheers,
dt. (currently in Tokyo)

Another contributing factor to this country's obesity is statements like these (no offense) and the fact that the general public doen't know much about nutrition. Eating fat doesn't make you fat. Eating calories makes you fat. I promise if you cut out every ounce of fat from your diet, but still eat more calories than you burn, you will still get fat. I apologize for picking on you, but this dogma is a big part of the problem. People worry so much about cutting out fat that they'll eat anything in its place--including things that are far worse for you (fake fats/trans fats) just because we hear it over and over "cut the fat". While there are certain health issues with certain fats in excessive amounts, it's not what's making people fat.

"The fast food industry doesn't force people to eat their food."

Agreed. But don't you think that the multi-millions spent on advertising encourages this.

5-6 years ago my wife and I did a long distance walk in Scotland (The West Highland Way). It's not a "tour group" kind of thing, so you don't travel with a group, but the villages are spaced so that you often end up passing and being passed by the same people on and off all week and spending the night in the same villages with them. The villages are small enough that you also run into the same people in the restaurants/pubs and get to know them a bit. 4-5 nights into the walk we were having a few pints with a group and the conversation got around to what do you do for a living... After everyone disclosed, an englishman piped up to us and said, "we had decided you must be PE teachers because we could tell you're americans, but you're not fat like most of them". Sad.

In addition to the typical american diet, I think a lack of activity plays a big role in our bulk in my opinion. I use activity rather than exercise because you don't have to be a raving triathlete to avoid lard ass status. You just need to eat sensibly and MOVE under your own power on a regular basis. My firm has 2 stories of a 30-story office building. It amazes me that the whales will punch the button and wait on the elevator (2-3 minutes) rather than waddling over to the steps to go between floors.

In my limited experience, a lot of Euros have a 5-10 minute walk from their home to some form of mass transit, then a 5-10 minute walk from the terminus to their work site. That, twice per day, is loads more exercise than most people I work with, who park in the garage under our building, and spend the rest of the day on the phone or the elevator. Every now and then, they remark on either my "high metabolism" or their astonishment (accusingly) that I have time to do all that "exercise stuff".

Fat people as a tourist attraction. Kind of funny, kind of sad.

"How was America?"
"Interesting. Saw the Statue of Liberty, the Grand Canyon, and *tons* of fat people."

I think that this is a cyclical thing though. Hopefully the American public has reached the apex of its problem and there does seem to be a bit of awareness and a backlash agains McD's and fast food. However, as American food and culture gets exported around the world other countries are going to start having similar problems. One can see the occasional article stating how this is already beginning to happen. Though I seriously doubt other countries will be able to do obesity as well as us.

It's not just over here.(I'm a Canuk BTW, but we're similiar to you US guys), but the Brits are also having a problem. Apparently they're now the "fattest" Euros.

Hmmmm. Could it be something with the English language. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/1170787.stm

Since you asked. :)

The Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than the
British or Americans.

The French eat a lot of fat and also suffer fewer heart attacks than the
British or Americans.

The Japanese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than
the British or Americans.

The Italians drink excessive amounts of red wine and also suffer fewer heart
attacks than the British or Americans.

The Germans drink a lot of beers and eat lots of sausages and fats and
suffer fewer heart attacks than the British or Americans.

CONCLUSION:
Eat and drink what you like.
Speaking English is apparently what kills you.

"Eating fat doesn't make you fat. Eating calories makes you fat."

Right you are. However, in most cases foods that are high in fat are also high in calories. Probably because each gram of fat has substantially more calories than carbs or proteins. It is possible to eat a high fat diet, like Atkins, and maintain or lose weight. More often a high fat diet is also coupled with high carbs and lack of exercise. The result is the dramatic increase in obesity. What people really need to do is eat way more fresh fruits and veggies and way less fast food. Fresh fruits and veggies are fast foods and also nutrionally much sounder than the crap from the drive up window.