Jan. 3, 2003 -- Houston is the couch potato capital of the U.S.
Jan. 3, 2003 -- Houston is the couch potato capital of the U.S. and Honolulu is the fittest city, say the editors of Men's Fitness magazine.
The "America's Fattest City" award goes to Houston for the third year, uh, running. The ratings are based on a major city's score in several categories such as fruit/vegetable consumption, sports participation, smoking, drinking, air quality, and percentage of overweight/sedentary residents.
"Given the region's climate (hot and humid), air quality (abysmal), and relative lack of outdoor recreation, staying active presents a Texas-sized challenge," the magazine states. "And with its love of junk food, Houston is a vastrodome of bad nutrition."
If you don't live in Houston, don't let out your belt just yet. The annual ratings are meant as a wake-up call to stop what the CDC calls a national epidemic of obesity. Two in every three Americans have a serious weight problem.
Here's the magazine's list of America's 10 fattest cities:
- Houston
- Chicago
- Detroit
- Philadelphia
- St. Louis
- Cleveland
- Atlanta
- Columbus, Ohio
- Dallas
- Charlotte, N.C.
And its list of the 10 fittest cities:
- Honolulu
- Seattle
- San Francisco
- Colorado Springs, Col.
- San Diego
- Portland, Ore.
- Denver
- Virginia Beach, Va.
- Tucson, Ariz.
- Sacramento, Calif.
