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everyday life & health
For three consecutive years Houston was the fattest city in America, according to Men’s Fitness magazine.
Men’s Fitness looks at the nation’s 50 largest cities and ranks them with more than a dozen equally weighted categories, including total number of clubs, gyms, sporting goods stores; fruit and vegetable consumption; alcohol and tobacco use; air and water quality; and parks and recreation facilities.
Enough already, say some Houston residents. John Foreyt, an obesity researcher at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, doesn’t think that picking on a few cities is wise when the entire country is overweight.
“We all have to look at what we can do about this epidemic of obesity that’s raging throughout this country and throughout the world,” Foreyt says.
Government statistics show that almost 65% of adults in this country weigh too much and about 31% are obese, which is 30 or more pounds over a healthy weight. Being overweight can cause health problems such as diabetes, heart disease, arthritis and some types of cancer.
Chris Sepolio, a certified personal trainer who has clients throughout the Houston area, agrees with Foreyt, obesity is not an issue limited to Houston.
“I have been a personal trainer in several large cities in my life such as Los Angeles, Miami and Las Vegas,” says Sepolio. “I would contend that Houston is no worse off than those cities. Obesity is a problem that faces many Americans throughout this country.”
Kathy Burt, who works at Inside Houston magazine, knows the tactics that magazines use to sell issues.
“Magazines always use rankings,” Burt says. “It grabs the reader’s attention. If you look at almost every health or glamour magazine, there is a version of a ranking or top ten in each issue.”
A recent citywide health and fitness campaign by Lee Labrada, Houston’s anointed “fitness czar,” has seemed to make an impact. After three years of being named America’s fattest city, Houston can now happily relinquish the title to Detroit.
In the most recent study by Men’s Fitness, however, Texas still had five of the ten fattest cities. Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio and Arlington now find themselves on the dubious list.
“Everyone in this country should be concerned about the increasing problem of obesity,” said Sepolio, “not just people in Texas, Houston or Detroit. It is a matter of life or death. If you know of anyone that is obese you should encourage them to contact their physician.”
© Copyright World Internet News 2006-07
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