Dallas, Houston, San Antonio & El Paso are listed as cities w/weight problems..Why isn't Austin? (low income, university)

[Deelightful]

Hello everyone,

I read an article which listed the major cities of Texas as having an obesity problem. Surprisingly, Austin was not listed. As a matter of fact, Austin was listed as one of the leanest cities in the country. How is it that Austinites don't have the same problems as other major cities within Texas?

Thank you in advance.

Dawn

[balps]

It's because everyone seems to be riding a bike around or jogging across town.

[AK123]

Originally Posted by Deelightful

Hello everyone,

I read an article which listed the major cities of Texas as having an obesity problem. Surprisingly, Austin was not listed. As a matter of fact, Austin was listed as one of the leanest cities in the country. How is it that Austinites don't have the same problems as other major cities within Texas?

Thank you in advance.

Dawn

If the article was written by Men's Cosmo (er, Fitness) Magazine, I'd take it with a grain of salt. Just look at the factors they use to make the list; basically, it's not good research because they don't directly measure what they claim to measure (obesity rates).

[TheyCallMeDerek]

Austin has been known as one of the healthiest cities in the US for a while now. Don't get me wrong, there are overwieght folks here, but for the most part you'll always see people walking, jogging, canoeing, riding bikes etc around most of the city.

[bmw88rider]

Also consider that the overall population is younger here than those cities so that will factor in it too. Or it could be that the restaurants just aren't as good here. ha!

[simpleharmonicmotion]

Younger population. Remember Austin is a college town with a flagship university.

[woodinvilleguy]

It has a lot to do with cultural diets in most places on the list, Although Dallas wouldn't fit that category. Austin tends to me more of a mix culturally and have a lot of different cultures here. The weather is also pretty mild, even in the summer you can get outside early in the morning before the heat.

[hoffdano]

Compared to other Texas cities, Austin:

- is better educated
- is younger
- higher per capita income
- fewer low income people
- fewer smokers

All of those things correlate with less obesity and better fitness.

[atxcio]

Besides the younger population, I think a lot of the people who move to Austin -- or decide to stay -- are into outdoor recreation in the first place. The lakes, greenbelts, hiking and biking trails, etc are very well utilized. Those are the amenities that draw many people here... and the lack of some other amenities (pro sports, theme parks, big museums, certain restaurants, etc) may drive away some of the less outdoor-oriented people.

[artsyguy]

I've honestly seen a lot of morbid obese people in Austin. They were older than 30 though.