Author Topic: everything's bigger in Texas (Read 608 times)

hawk220 · « **on:** January 03, 2003, 08:41:15 AM »

chow down, Houston

Jan 2, 10:55 PM (ET)

By JUAN A. LOZANO

HOUSTON (AP) - Houston, we still have a weight problem.

For the third year in a row, "Men's Fitness" magazine has named the city the nation's fattest, blaming the region's hot and humid climate, "abysmal" air quality, relative lack of outdoor recreation and residents' love of junk food.

The country's fourth-largest city topped a list of 25 cities, followed by Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia and St. Louis.

Last year, the city launched a Get Lean Houston! initiative, aiming to encourage residents to get fit and live healthier lives. It also named Lee Labrada, a former Mr. Universe, as the city's first fitness czar.

Labrada said he's skeptical of surveys like the magazine's, and places more stock in studies like a recent one by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC interviewed 185,000 Americans by telephone in 55 U.S. cities to determine the percentage of people who are overweight or obese.

"Houston was not even in the top 10," Labrada said.

Houston Mayor Lee Brown, who last year admitted he had packed on a few pounds, has lost 20 pounds since.

"We do not relish the title bestowed upon us by 'Men's Fitness' magazine," Brown said in a statement, "and will continue to work to involve all Houstonians in our programs to improve the overall health and fitness of the city's residents."

gofaster · « **Reply #1 on:** January 03, 2003, 08:48:27 AM »

That's what happens when they go without a football team for too long. The Houston males all just sat around the house on Sundays eating potato chips and watching "Lifetime" original movies instead of jumping up and down and yelling at Bum Phillips for making a bad call like they did in the old days.

miko2d · « **Reply #2 on:** January 03, 2003, 09:45:22 AM »

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Obesity within Ethnic Groups - USA

In women, overweight and obesity are higher among members of racial and ethnic minority populations than in non-Hispanic white women.
In men, Mexican Americans have a higher prevalence of overweight and obesity than non-Hispanic whites or non-Hispanic blacks.
Mexican American boys tend to have a higher prevalence of overweight than non-Hispanic black or non-Hispanic white boys.
Non-Hispanic black girls tend to have a higher prevalence of overweight than Mexican American or non-Hispanic white girls.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------[/b][/i]

Texas population is 32% hispanic and 12% black.

European and asian - derived populations had hundreds of generations to genetically adapt to the relative abundance of food in civilised agricultural society compared to more primitive societies.
Craving for fat, salt and sugar, uncontrollable appetite and increased digestion/fat forming are survival traits in people living hunter-gatherer or subsistence farming lifestyle but counter-survival/reproductive in people with access to steady supply of food, especially before the development of medicine.

It's only natural that Texas as a state is more overweigtht on average as it is more diverse than most states in this country. The agregate statistics is worthless for most practical purposes.

miko

Eagler · « **Reply #3 on:** January 03, 2003, 12:35:44 PM »

hehe you racist ...

not worth cloning are they

udet · « **Reply #4 on:** January 03, 2003, 12:42:00 PM »

Texas has hot chicks too

mrfish · « **Reply #5 on:** January 03, 2003, 12:43:22 PM »

when i was flying back from oklahoma a few days ago, they asked if anyone needed to 'pre-board' because of disability etc...

in california when they ask that there's people in wheelchairs etc- in oklahoma like 4 giant god-awful fat bohemeths waddled up there whining about everything- there only disability was that they were unnervingly fat-assed.....i'm no lilting daisy but damn man, that part of the world has some hefers for sure....

the chicks that are half decent in that part of the world have 8 lbs of makeup on and an annoying habit of saying 'thank you' as 'thankewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww'

so glad i moved

Montezuma · « **Reply #6 on:** January 03, 2003, 03:16:19 PM »

Miko, you're a crackpot.

Here's the list of 'fit and fat' cities by the magazine.
http://www.mensfitness.com/mens/superfeat/010203/ranking.html

miko2d · « **Reply #7 on:** January 03, 2003, 05:00:04 PM »

Montezuma: Miko, you're a crackpot.

There was an interesting segment on PBS about a central-american tribe split between Mexico and California.

The people in Mexico live in a very sparse conditions somewhere in highlands, eat mostly cereals, walk around a lot, do a lot of physical activity, do not have excess food, etc. They look very fit - every single one of them. They do not look starving or even skinny - just healthy, muscular people with about ideal body fat ratio.

Their cousins - first, second and third generation residents of California are almost all extremely obese. Obesity affects them to much higher degree than other Californians.

I certainly know even from personal experience that tendency to obesity is hereditary and it is highly inheritable. Many people can eat all they want and still stay skinny while other people gain weight quick from the smallest indulgence. Any hereditary trait is subject to natural selection.

Here's the list of 'fit and fat' cities by the magazine.
http://www.mensfitness.com/mens/superfeat/010203/ranking.html [/B][/QUOTE]

That table could use some numbers in it in addition to rankings. It is possible that differences in local culture contribute to disparities, but I would not be surprised if ethnic composition had a lot to do with it.

miko