Fat Texas? (Houston, Dallas, San Antonio: trip , health, home)

[divinemom]

Originally Posted by lifertexan

In honor of the survey, for lunch today I had a chicken fried steak covered with queso and jalapenos, along with refried beans and rice. Unfortunately, since I was by myself and driving, I was deprived of the proper beverage to wash this excellent meal down with and had to settle for ice tea.

And tomorrow, tofu! (That is Japanese for bbq'd pork ribs, beans, and potato salad, isn't it?)

Ewww! That sounds nasty!

[karnival96]

then why is it that people in Seattle, Portland and other west coast cities nearly twice as likely to die from heart related ailments than people from most of Texas' largest cities (at least according to Money Magazine's most recent best places survey http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2006/index.html) (broken link). People in Texas do better in cancer death rates as well.

I would think that these numbers are more revealing of general heath than how many Taco Bells, TV's and fitness centers exist in a given city. The Mens Fitness survey doesnt even take into consideration the difference in size of given fitness centers (a gym serving 10 people a week is counted the same as one that may serve hundreds each day). Here are the numbers from Money Magazine's survey:

_________ Cardiac Mortality Cancer Mortality
Portland_______ 188 _____________ 218
Seattle________ 166 _____________ 173
Los Angeles____ 210 _____________ 155
San Diego______ 203 _____________ 164
New York_______ 308 _____________ 198
Chicago________ 264 _____________ 211


Dallas _________ 97 _____________ 141
Houston________ 104 _____________ 152
Austin_________ 126 _____________ 145
San Antonio____ 206 _____________ 153




* These numbers are in deaths per 100000 people in the population. Cancer rates are adjusted for age.

[BobTex]

Originally Posted by karnival96

then why is it that people in Seattle, Portland and other west coast cities nearly twice as likely to die from heart related ailments than people from most of Texas' largest cities (at least according to Money Magazine's most recent best places survey http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2006/index.html) (broken link). People in Texas do better in cancer death rates as well.

I would think that these numbers are more revealing of general heath than how many Taco Bells, TV's and fitness centers exist in a given city. The Mens Fitness survey doesnt even take into consideration the difference in size of given fitness centers (a gym serving 10 people a week is counted the same as one that may serve hundreds each day). Here are the numbers from Money Magazine's survey:

_________ Cardiac Mortality Cancer Mortality
Portland_______ 188 _____________ 218
Seattle________ 166 _____________ 173
Los Angeles____ 210 _____________ 155
San Diego______ 203 _____________ 164
New York_______ 308 _____________ 198
Chicago________ 264 _____________ 211


Dallas _________ 97 _____________ 141
Houston________ 104 _____________ 152
Austin_________ 126 _____________ 145
San Antonio____ 206 _____________ 153




* These numbers are in deaths per 100000 people in the population. Cancer rates are adjusted for age.

Dang ...... That Pacific NW is really an unhealthy place .... wow!

Heart disease is related to stress and we Texans are just so dang happy to be Texans (for the most part) that that is a HUGE stress eraser !

Lifer, despite the past .... here here to you!!!!! I do prefer the huge amounts of cream gravy with the CF steak though. The jalepenos are a definite plus ..... once the sweat breaks out on my forehead I know I'm burning calories!!!!!! Texas food is better ..... I almost starved to death when I lived in Maine! Course I did hook a few of those Maniacs on bacon wrapped grilled shrimp!

BTW .... not overweight here ..... but I do see a lot of spandex dimples here!

[Paddington]

I live in Ohio, which is not a particularly health concious state. When I go over to England, it's noticeable that the people there are a lot slimmer, especially in London, where the food is so expensive it's just not economically feasible to be fat unless you're a "fat cat". On the other hand, when I visited Dallas in 2002, I was amazed at how many fat people there were there. I remember walking around the Galleria mall, and there were numerous overweight middle aged women walking around in short-shorts... The sight still gives me nightmares.

[WJD]

California has it's share of fatties also.
There so depressed from the stress of traffic and congestion that food is a major comfort!

[Roma]

Ya, Whats sad is, besides all the fat/obese adults, I see a lot of fat/obese teenagers and kids here in Texas compared to where I came from. That really stood out to me. Very sad.

[LarLan218]

I've spent the better part of a decade in the San Antonio area. Stop talking about people walking... The only walking I see is after these morbidly obese people have sharked a parking spot within 20 feet of their favorite taco stand. Everyone here is fat (dirty too). Tex-Mex is okay occasionally I guess but it's all the same. It's also horrible for you. I will be leaving in a few weeks and couldn't be happier. I have never been to a city where a 5-gallon tub of lard is so readily available (I'm not joking). Everyone here loves the Mexican food and raves about it. This makes it hard to find anything else. This city also suffers from a lack of sidewalks. That makes sense though since most people here would be too lazy to use them. Everywhere you go you see three things... Spurs, beer, and tacos. I guess I have nothing against the Spurs except that their fans are small-minded, fat, and obnoxious. Beer is good, until you put some lime and salt in it or mix it with tomato juice or just happen to drink the cheap crap that is so popular here. Then tacos... I like tacos maybe once a month or so, but I can't stand the Tex-Mex influence in all the local cuisine. Every time I travel I am literally shocked at the lack of fat people, to include children. The only bigger city in Texas that is really any different is Austin. Too bad it is stuck in the center of this fat state.

[Rocket Power]

I swear, sometimes I wonder if I'm living in the same state as some of these people who do nothing but complain and say negative things.

[JamesAbilene]

I am overweight, and I am not proud of it. However, I love those Texas foods that put on the pounds. My philosophy is--would you rather die with cream gravy or a lettuce leaf on your lips if the lettuce leaf gives you a few more months of life? I actually think that I have cream gravy rather than blood pumping through my veins and arteries. Not proud of it, but what is, is.

[TexasReb]

I hadn't read this thread until now...

But James..? Wasnt it you who told that great story about how your grandmaw would have lived to be a 110 if she hadn't died young at 95 eatin' all that stuff that was terrible for her health...?