America's Fattest Cities 2002

Is your town fat or fit? Do you live in the Blubber Belt?

"If these rates continue — about 1 percent gain per year — we'll all be overweight by the year 2035 and obese by 2100." And 1 in 2 people will have diabetes.

Men’s Fitness embarks on an annual comparison of fat factors from  the 50 biggest U.S. cities.

Today, nearly two out of three Americans are overweight.   It's not just about genetics. Two-thirds of obesity determinants are environmental, such as climate, access to rich food, and exercise options. Some cities are better at encouraging fitness, while others just let the bellies bulge. Click the links below to find out if your hometown helps keep you firm or flabby.

The survey mixes hard science (like mortality data and the percentage of overweight people) with real-world lifestyle factors (such as climate and availability of exercise facilities, public parks and open space. Factors that provide insight into the attitude and behavior of the locals, including fruit and vegetable consumption, TV watching statistics, and junk-food proliferation, were also measured.

In December 2001, U.S.Surgeon General David Satcher, M.D., blamed obesity for causing some 300,000 deaths annually in the U.S., warning that obesity may soon overtake tobacco as the leading cause of preventable deaths. Satcher also called on communities, the food industry and employers alike to get serious about this epidemic.

Men’s Fitness Magazine survey shows cities where their strengths lie, and what they need to work on most. Take a look at the 4th annual report to see how your hometown fares. Learn from the successes and failures of other communities. Make your voice heard in local government, industry and educational institutions.

Click on any city for more information.

Click on any city for more information.

In a written statement, the magazine said that Americans spent $120 billion last year treating diabetes and other obesity-related diseases. The cure, the magazine said, is to eat less, eat more nutritional food and exercise more.

The National Health and Nutritional Survey, reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association in October, concluded that about one in three Americans now is obese, and that nearly two of every three Americans have a serious weight problem.

"The increases are across the board for all age groups, both sexes and in all races," Cynthia Ogden, co-author of the study, said in the statement.

John Foreyt, director of the Nutrition Research Clinic at Houston's Baylor College, said in the statement that "(i)f these rates continue — about 1 percent gain per year — we'll all be overweight by the year 2035 and obese by 2100."

Houston ranked as the fattest city on the fitness magazine's list for the third year in a row, followed by Chicago; Detroit; Philadelphia; St. Louis; Cleveland; Atlanta; Columbus, Ohio; Dallas; and Charlotte, N.C.

Honolulu ranks as the fittest city in the survey, followed by Seattle; San Francisco; Colorado Springs, Colo.; San Diego; Portland, Ore.; Denver; Virginia Beach, Va.; Tucson, Ariz.; and Sacramento, Calif.

The magazine evaluated the nation's 50 largest cities between July and September 2002 by looking at 16 different categories as indicators, risk factors or relevant environmental factors affecting fitness, including:

• Consumption of fruit and vegetables
• Participation in sports
• Smoking
• Drinking
• Air and water quality
• Length of commute for work
• Availability of parks and other open spaces
• Percentage of overweight or sedentary residents

Men's Fitness Magazine is published by Weider Publications Inc. of Woodland Hills, Calif.

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