don's report archive

by Donald B. Ardell, Ph. D.

Wellness in the Headlines
(Don's Report to the World)

A visitor to SeekWellness wrote the other day to ask, "Are some cities more likely to make me fat than others?" Then she apologized "in case the question seemed silly or uninteresting!" I did not think the question was silly OR uninteresting. I suggested that the answer to the question was "it depends." The answer to most questions is "it depends."

One variable "it depends" upon is how committed you are to a wellness lifestyle. If you are very committed, you won't get fat no matter where you live. On the other hand, if you are a couch potato who smokes and is stressed half the time and bored the other half, chances are high that you will seek a little joy in life from high fat foods, alcohol and excessive sweets. These lifestyle factors, in turn, will make you fat, not the fact that you are living in one city or another.

In summary, then, it's not the city in which you conduct your lifestyle that will make you fat -- it's the lifestyle you conduct in the city where you live that determines your shape -- and your health. Choose a healthy lifestyle and the city where you live will do just fine.

I, personally, for instance, would not get heavy in any city in the universe, since I am committed to exercise and competitions. I find a way to work out wherever I am, even if conditions are terrible. Most people are not like that -- they are far more attuned to their environments than I am, in this respect, and will not go out of their way to work out if the city does not make it easy, safe, attractive and affordable. Since not many cities outside of San Diego do that, just about any city will make you fat, if you don't take matters into your own hands and live well regardless of the supports provided.

A recent article in Men's Fitness magazine brought to my attention by a health educator named Karen Gray bears on this question. It seems that the editors of Men's Fitness collaborated with Her Slimness, Madame Oprah (see oprah.com) on a show last January that identified five cities with the fattest populations. Want to guess the cities on the list?

Here is the list:

1. Philadelphia
2. Kansas City
3. Houston
4. Indianapolis
5. New Orleans (New Orleans had been #1 in 1999)

Want to know which cities got Oprah's vote for the five fittest?

1. San Diego (also # 1 in 1999)
2. Minneapolis
3. Seattle
4. Washington, DC
5. San Francisco

So, if you want to be less fat, MOVE to one of the above five cities! If you want to be more fit and well, live a wellness lifestyle right where you are.

(Note: This essay will be filed in the archives in the PHYSICAL DOMAIN under the skill area of appearance and aging. Additional articles related to this theme may be found there.)

(Ed. Note: Views expressed in this and other columns are those of the author and not necessarily those of the SeekWellness Editorial Board.)

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