Does this City Make Me Look Fat???

During my normal MSN search for a blog idea I came across an article talking about America's fattest cities. Obviously "The Fattest Cities" was eye-catcher I mean who wouldn't want to check this out and see where their area ranked. I decided that not only would it make a somewhat interesting blog I was curious to see how their numbers compared to something I had read a while back.
Now to best understand just how big some cities (and unfortunately people) have become I'm going to compare it in a slightly different manner. Obviously you are already on your computer, so go to Google and click on the maps tab, then type in USA. Now look at that pretty picture that comes up, see how big Texas is compared to some of the other states, well that is the direction that our country may be headed in if we don't manage to pass on the Ben and Jerry's ice cream for more than a few days at a time. I used Texas because it obvious is huge, but even more because five of the top ten fattest cities in the United States is from Texas. As many of us know Texas is the home of good -ol - southern cookin, famous for their fried chicken, mashed taters, and all kinds of other delicious goodies that it is easy to see why they are so high on the list. Still though it make one wonder if with that many obese cities if something shouldn't be changed for the peoples good. Now I am by no means saying that it is right to tell people what they can and can't eat, I like me some homemade biscuits as much as the next guy, but this does make me wonder about healthier options or at least awareness. And apparently I am not the only one either because Texas is trying to pass legislation that requires chain restaurants to publish the nutritional content of each item on the menu. A study done at Yale University found that people who could read about what they were eating ate 15%. Personally this sounds like a pretty good plan, because every time I am brave enough to check the calories of what I'm eating I always feel a little less hungrier and a little fatter.
But just because Texas is highest on the list doesn't mean that other cities don't have problems with people being heavy.

The Heaviest Cities:

Ranking	City	State	Grade
1.	Corpus Christi	Texas	F
2.	Charleston	W.Va.	F
3.	El Paso	Texas	F
4.	Dallas	Texas	F
5.	Memphis	Tenn.	F
6.	Kansas City	Mo.	F
7.	San Antonio	Texas	F
8.	Baltimore	Md.	F
9.	Houston	Texas	D-
10.	Birmingham	Ala.	D-

And of course there are skinny cities as well, just check out this list below, and be sure and not that Austin, Texas is included.

The Leanest Cities

Ranking	City	State	Grade
1.	San Francisco	Calif.	A+
2.	Burlington	Vermont	A+
3.	Washington, D.C.	A
4.	Seattle	Wash.	A
5.	Austin	Texas	A
6.	Albuquerque	N.M.	A-
7.	Portland	Ore.	A-
8.	Cincinnati	Ohio	A-
9.	Denver	Colo.	A-
10.	Aurora	Colo.	B+

For those that are wondering exactly how the fattest cities were determined I am happy to tell you that it was a multifaceted study. Men's Health "calculated the percentage of people who are overweight, the percentage with type 2 diabetes, the percentage who haven't left the couch in a month (CDC Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System); the money spent on junk food (Bureau of Labor Stastics); and finally, the number of people who ate fast food nine or more times in a month (Mediamark Research)." Men's Fitness and Forbes also did study to find American's fattest and junkiest cities and they came up with simualar though not identical results. Furthmore, I once read somewhere or other that the fattest and skinniest cities in America weren't separated but by a handful of percentage points. I guess the moral of the story is that certain cities are more prone to being a little heavier than others, but in reality it is hard to say who takes the cake - I guess this is why we should all eat our veggies instead.