Health: America's Most Obese Cities

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[image: Forbes.com]

 

 

Health

*America's Most Obese Cities*

Rebecca Ruiz 11.26.07, 6:00 PM ET

http://www.forbes.com/2007/11/14/health-obesity-cities-forbeslife-cx_rr_1114obes\

e_print.html

 

We are heavier than ever.

 

Once considered an affliction of the lazy and indulgent, obesity now affects

about one-third of Americans. The epidemic has swept up the wealthy, middle

class and the poor; city dwellers, suburbanites and those in rural areas;

and people of all races and ethnicities.

 

The causes, researchers say, are numerous. These include a diet of

calorie-dense but nutrient-deficient food found in grocery and convenience

stores, public planning strategies that favor motorists over walkers and

cyclists, and simply bad habits.

 

And while the causes are many, the costs are enormous. Obesity's associated

costs add $93 billion to the nation's medical bill annually. Each year,

112,000 people die from obesity-related causes, and the condition is

responsible for an increased risk of chronic diseases like Type 2 diabetes,

cancer and heart disease.

 

*Related Stories*

America's Most Sedentary

Cities<http://www.forbes.com/lifestyle/2007/10/28/health-sedentary-cities-forbes\

life-cx_rr_1029health.html>

 

America's Most Murderous

Cities<http://www.forbes.com/lifestyle/2007/11/08/murder-city-danger-forbeslife-\

cx_de_1108murder.html>

 

To better understand the local and state implications of the obesity

epidemic, we ranked the nation's heaviest cities. In doing so, we discovered

states with multiple offenders, metropolitan areas with expanding waistlines

and a high representation of Southern cities. Worse yet, after claiming the

title of the most sedentary city, Memphis,

Tenn.<http://www.forbes.com/2007/11/14/health-obesity-cities-forbeslife-cx_rr_11\

14obese_slide_2.html?thisspeed=20000>,

has also ranked first as the country's most obese.

 

*Behind the Numbers*

To determine which cities were the most obese, we looked at 2006 data on

body mass index, or BMI, collected by the Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, which conducts

phone interviews with residents of metropolitan areas about health issues,

including obesity, diabetes and exercise.

 

In this case, participants report their height and weight, which survey

analysts use to calculate a BMI. Those with a BMI between 18.5 and 24.9 are

considered at a healthy weight, those with a BMI between 25 and 29.9 are

considered overweight, and those with a BMI of 30 or higher are considered

obese. About 32% of the nation is obese, according to the Centers for

Disease Control; Memphis ranked above the national average at 34%.

 

Though data is collected for roughly 145 metropolitan statistical areas, we

looked only at the country's 50 most populated cities and ranked the top 20.

Because of an insufficient number of survey responses, data from some

cities, including Sacramento, Calif., Columbus, Ohio, and Buffalo, N.Y., was

not included. Had we included every area on the list, the smaller cities of

Huntington, W.Va., and Ashland, Ky., near the West Virginia, Kentucky and

Ohio state borders, would have far outpaced every city on the list, with

obesity rates of 45%. Of the 50 cities we did rank, Boston entered last,

with only 19%.

 

*Noticeable Trends

*Many of the cities on the list have high poverty rates and high frequencies

of fast-food consumption.

 

In the city of Memphis, which does not include the outlying areas surveyed

by the CDC, 24% of residents live below the poverty line. According to the

U.S. Census Bureau, the national average is 13%. The same trend was

noticeable in the cities of

Milwaukee<http://www.forbes.com/2007/11/14/health-obesity-cities-forbeslife-cx_r\

r_1114obese_slide_18.html?thisspeed=20000>(No.

17),

Detroit<http://www.forbes.com/2007/11/14/health-obesity-cities-forbeslife-cx_rr_\

1114obese_slide_6.html?thisspeed=20000>(No.

5) and San

Antonio<http://www.forbes.com/2007/11/14/health-obesity-cities-forbeslife-cx_rr_\

1114obese_slide_4.html?thisspeed=20000>(No.

3) where 26%, 33% and 18% of residents, respectively, live beneath the

poverty line.

 

While fast-food consumption is a minor factor influencing obesity rates,

purchasing patterns often reflect larger health issues and habits in certain

communities. The average American had purchased fast food 16 days of the

month between January and September of this year, according to Quick-Track®

research conducted by the consumer tracking group Sandelman & Associates.

Thirteen cities on our list, including Memphis, Austin,

Texas<http://www.forbes.com/2007/11/14/health-obesity-cities-forbeslife-cx_rr_11\

14obese_slide_20.html?thisspeed=20000>,

and

Indianapolis<http://www.forbes.com/2007/11/14/health-obesity-cities-forbeslife-c\

x_rr_1114obese_slide_13.html?thisspeed=20000>

,* *met the national average or higher. Residents of San Antonio eat

fast-food 20 days of the month, and had the highest frequency of the cities

on our list.

 

*The Causes

*Despite public health warnings about maintaining a frequent exercise

regimen, limiting fast-food consumption and avoiding weight gain, there is

no single cause of obesity, a fact that often frustrates experts,

legislators--and obese people.

 

Other factors contributing to our ballooning waistlines, says Marian Levy,

director of the master's of public health program at the University of

Memphis, include enormous food portions, declining exercise rates and

cheaper, unhealthy food. When asked about Memphis, however, Levy emphasizes

a local culture built around Southern hospitality.

 

" We express our caring about people through food, " she says, describing

generous helpings of fried fish, chicken and okra often shared with

neighbors and friends. " We have to realize that if we truly care about

people, we want them to be healthful. "

 

In Memphis, as in other cities on our list, reversing the obesity crisis can

seem like trying to plug a thousand holes in a sinking ship. Public health

campaigns are a start. Healthy Memphis Common Table, a nonprofit

organization trying to promote better fitness and nutrition choices,

provides residents with a list of exercise facilities and walking paths in

addition to health tips and testimonials about the benefits of weight loss.

 

Another tactic, notes Levy, is vending machine legislation that will require

schools pre-K through eighth grade to replace unhealthy foods and beverages

in vending machines, on school store shelves, at fundraisers and a la carte

cafeteria items with more nutritious alternatives. She hopes the

legislation, which is being implemented for the current school year, will

improve the diets of Memphis-area school children, 71% of whom receive a

free lunch from school cafeterias.

 

Still, " there's not going to be a silver bullet, " Levy says. " There has to

be a simultaneous change at the environmental level, in schools, communities

and families. "

 

*The Solutions

*It's that community-wide change in lifestyle that experts say will result

in fewer cases of obesity.

 

" You see cities taking this on in a range of different ways, " says Leon

Andrews, the project director of the Institute for Youth, Education and

Families at the National League of Cities. Andrews is currently overseeing a

one-year project in which six cities, including our third most obese, San

Antonio, receive assistance in combating childhood obesity and promoting

community wellness.

 

Andrews identified five ways cities could specifically address childhood

obesity, as well as larger community health issues. These included improving

public space and utilizing parks and recreation areas to encourage physical

activity, as well as pursuing healthy food alternatives through community

gardens and farmer's markets.

 

" More cities are becoming aware of [obesity] and looking to play a role in

improving the situation, " Andrews says. He also pointed out that city

leaders often preferred to follow a successful example as opposed to chart a

new course: " They definitely want to be the second, but may not want to be

the first, " he says. Regardless, it's clear that rising rates of childhood

obesity--17% of children and adolescents ages 12 to 19 are overweight--has

prompted cities like Birmingham,

Ala.<http://www.forbes.com/2007/11/14/health-obesity-cities-forbeslife-cx_rr_111\

4obese_slide_3.html?thisspeed=20000>,

San

Diego<http://www.forbes.com/2007/11/14/health-obesity-cities-forbeslife-cx_rr_11\

14obese_slide_11.html?thisspeed=20000>and

Richmond,

Va.<http://www.forbes.com/2007/11/14/health-obesity-cities-forbeslife-cx_rr_1114\

obese_slide_19.html?thisspeed=20000>,

all on our list, to become more proactive in terms of obesity prevention.

 

Others, such as Walter Willett, a professor of epidemiology and nutrition at

the Harvard School of Public Health, believe our salvation lies mainly in

ridding the grocery store of food he calls " not fit for human consumption. "

Among the items he would like to see purged, he says, are the " shelves of

sugar water, the breakfast cereal section, dominated by refined starch and

sugar, and white bread and rolls. "

 

According to Willett, a healthier diet, in combination with increased levels

of physical activity and environments that promote exercise, would

drastically improve the country's obesity problem. " If we do this right, " he

says, " we'll improve our quality of life in many different ways. "

In Pictures: America's 20 Most Obese

Cities<http://www.forbes.com/2007/11/14/health-obesity-cities-forbeslife-cx_rr_1\

114obese_slide_2.html?thisspeed=20000>

 

http://www.forbes.com/2007/11/14/health-obesity-cities-forbeslife-cx_rr_1114obes\

e_slide_2.html?thisspeed=20000

 

Back to Butch .. this trend to overeat is not new though it might be more

serious than in the past .. but even back in 1967 when I was teaching ROTC

at Drexel Inst of Technology (later named Drexel University) I instituted a

program called the 100 Mile Club .. for not only cadets but any students.

They had to run/jog a total of 100 miles in 90 days and they were presented

a nice certificate suitable for framing .. signed by me and the Professor of

Military Science. This was on their own .. an honor system .. but miles

could only be tallied if run with one other (any) person .. and that person

had to witness that they had been with the other person while the 100 miles

was covered. Most of the ROTC cadets joined up .. less than a dozen others

joined and most never completed the runs.

 

© 2007 AOL LLC. .

<http://www.forbes.com/2007/11/14/health-obesity-cities-forbeslife-cx_rr_1114obe\

se_slide_2.html?thisspeed=20000>

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

hi

 

No offense to intented, it's just an observation I made when I last visited

U.S. two years back. I was just amazed at the serving portions, they were

huge!!! I remember ordering two slices of pizza and it was equal to one

whole pizza back home. Your small soda would be equal to medium or large

elsewhere. I noticed quantity was more but quality was low. Portion sizing

is so important, especially considering the fact that we get so used to

eating 'that' much amount of food that we consider it to be normal. If you

calculate many people eat more than half of day's calories in one meal.

 

thnks

J

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Not to mention that STRESS plays alot in the choices we make... If

you're poor, and you have little money and little time.. your kids

suffer... Also... if you are predispositioned (genetically) to obesity

chances are 50/50 that you will become obese in your life.

 

FAT does not = to unhealthy... (I know plenty of people who are

overweight and are healthy as horses..) Researchers have a tendency to

over emphasize weight as opposed to overall health... Meaning the whole

person.

 

Hormones also have a lot to do with it.... more fat stores more

estrogen.. (and they think hopping cows up on steroids doesn't hurt

anyone?)

 

Butch Owen wrote:

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> The causes, researchers say, are numerous. These include a diet of

> calorie-dense but nutrient-deficient food found in grocery and convenience

> stores, public planning strategies that favor motorists over walkers and

> cyclists, and simply bad habits.

>

> .

>

>

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