Saturday, March 13, 2010
Slim people in Loveland, Colorado
Americans could stand to lose a few pounds in parts of Alabama and California, while Colorado has demonstrated itself to be quite lean when it comes to obesity. Gallup and Healthways teamed up to examine body mass index data and figure out which parts of the United States have high and low obesity rates.
Montgomery, Alabama, and Stockton, California, tied for the most obese urban areas, at 34.6%. They were followed by Visalia/Portervile, California and York/Hanover, Pennsylvania, also above 34%. The national average obesity rate is 26.5%.
Perhaps not surprisingly, these cities also faired poorly when it came to measuring healthy behaviors, which included gauging eating, exercise, and smoking habits.
Gallup/Healthways also produced a ranking of cities with the lowest obesity rates. Fort Collins/Loveland, Colorado, came out on top, with a 16% rate, followed closely by Boulder at 16.6%. Two other Colorado metro areas finished in the top 10: Colorado Springs and Denver/Aurora.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
What America's Most Obese Metro Areas Have in Common (by Elizabeth Mendes, Gallup)
Good Health Habits the Norm in Slimmest U.S. Metro Areas (by Elizabeth Mendes, Gallup)
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