FW: Nice!

This is why we have to run!

-----Original Message-----
From: Jenkins, Beth
Sent: Friday, January 04, 2002 10:23 AM
To: Mckay, Jonathan; Chase Tolle (E-mail)
Subject: Nice!

BACK FOR SECONDS
Houston again named fattest city in America by national magazine
By DANIEL J. VARGAS
Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle
Isn't it just like Houston to go for seconds?
This title-craving city has been named the fattest, plumpest, most rotund city in America by Men's Fitness for a second consecutive year.
Weigh to go.
Fattest cities 1. Houston 2. Chicago 3. Detroit 4. Philadelphia 5. Dallas 6. Columbus, Ohio 7. San Antonio 8. Fort Worth 9. St. Louis 10. Indianapolis Fittest cities 1. Colorado Springs, Colo. 2. Denver 3. San Diego 4. Seattle 5. San Francisco 6. Virginia Beach, Va. 7. Honolulu 8. Sacramento, Calif. 9. Albuquerque, N.M. 10. Boston
"Houstonians need to turn off the TV and get out to their parks where a variety of programs for kids and adults are offered for free," the magazine writes.
Last year, Houstonians viewed the national magazine as a svelte bully picking on the chubby little kid on the playground and reacted like a protective, angry mother.
In 2002, the message is soaking in like a juicy, half-pound hamburger patty on a freshly toasted bun.
"The first year we were kind of upset because we weren't happy or agreed with the ranking because they took into account air quality and other things people can't control," says Shadston Pittman, fitness coordinator for the city's Parks and Recreation Department. "This year the ranking is motivating because we have some projects in place now. I think we can show the world (weight loss) is a priority for us.
"But they still got us. Again."
In fact, Pittman thought Indianapolis would get the top honor. Sorry, they came in 10th.
"I didn't think we'd be number one because of the proactive steps we took," he says.
For the country's 50 largest cities, the magazine took existing data and issued grades in 16 categories such as overweight and obesity rates (D), air quality (F), TV viewing habits (F), water quality (D), parks and open space (D+), nutrition (B-) and climate (C).
When the grades were tallied, Houston once again found itself at the head of the class, albeit the one with all the detention-serving kids.
The Men's Fitness issue hits newsstands Tuesday. (Meanwhile, we apparently should hit the treadmill.)
Not to be outdone, other major Texas cities also found themselves on the heavy side.
Dallas ranked fifth. San Antonio was seventh. Fort Worth ranked eighth and El Paso weighed in at 14th.
The only Texas city on the light side was Austin, ranked as the 16th fittest. The fittest city was Colorado Springs, Colo.
Karen Calabro, coordinator of health promotion and health education at the University of Texas-Houston Health Science Center, says although she doesn't put much stock into the magazine's formula, Houstonians could stand to shed a few pounds.
"We could all lose some weight. Me included," the registered dietitian says.
Houston, Calabro says, isn't the only city with a caloric-intake and sedentary epidemic.
Nationally, 55 percent of adults are overweight or obese, according to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.
As your waistline expands so do your chances of developing diseases or conditions such as high blood pressure, heart disease or diabetes, Calabro says.
"A big part of this obesity problem," she says, "is that we're not exercising" -- not even when the opportunity presents itself for a brisk walk.
We opt for the elevator when the stairs call our name. We see escalators as our new best friend. And we drive to the corner store for ice cream.
But Pittman hopes to alter our lifestyles and ballooning image.
After Houston earned the first unsolicited title, Pittman and two other city officials visited Philadelphia, which owned the "fattest" ranking in 2000.
Philly started a citywide campaign called "Fun, Fit and Free" to get its residents to slim down. Last year, Philadelphia fell out of the top spot and this year is in fourth place.
Pittman, who is also a personal trainer and has been fitness coordinator for just a year, says Houston's version will not be under one umbrella slogan like Philadelphia's. However, there will be several endeavors to involve as many people as possible.
The city's get-fit effort will kick off Jan. 17 when the city teams up with the Subway sandwich chain to bring the Subway Challenge to Houston.
The problem is so serious that Subway is sending its big-gun spokesman to the Jan. 17 event.
From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. outside City Hall, 900 Smith, participants can meet Jared Fogle, who lost 245 pounds on a diet of low-fat, low-calorie Subway sandwiches, and receive a pledge card good for sandwich discounts and a two-week free membership to Bally Total Fitness.
"That Jared's a nice guy," Pittman says. "That's his full-time job now."
People would agree that losing weight is a full-time task.
The city will also team up with the Texas Fruit and Produce Growers Association and Central Market to promote the "Five a Day" message of eating five serving of fruits and vegetables a day. That effort kicks off Jan. 22.
"We're not saying everyone has to run 10 miles a day around Memorial Park," Pittman says. "We're talking just simple lifestyle changes."
Later this year, Houston will join other major Texas cities in a program called "Shape Up Texas" to improve health and wellness among Texans. That's not a bad idea considering Texas cities make up 20 percent of the fat list and four of the top eight.
Mayor Lee Brown says he will do his part to cut out the fat at City Hall.
Brown, who has put on a few pounds since taking office, says he isn't surprised by Houston's expansive reputation.
"I'm afraid I've contributed to that," he says.
Brown says he will set an example for the rest of the city by losing some weight himself, not through a diet but by walking and riding his bike more. However, he wouldn't reveal how much weight he planned to shed.
Pittman applauds the mayor's words about weight loss.
"It's great when you have someone of that stature visibly being a speaker for health and fitness," he says.
The last thing we want is a three-peat in 2003.