Do you live in a fit city? In recent years, a lot of focus
has been placed on Americans’ waistlines. The main reason being that obesity
dramatically affects a person’s overall health while increasing their chances
of developing life threatening diseases like diabetes. Many attribute American’s
weight gain to a sedentary lifestyle and love of fast-food.
Men’s Fitness magazine recently compiled a list of 25 of the
fittest and fattest
cities in the nation. Each list was based on a multitude of factors. The research yielded some interesting factors into what makes
a “fat city”. Take, for example, #1 on the list—Houston. Thirty-four percent of
its residence is overweight. That number becomes less shocking when you see the
factors as to why:
- The city lacks a comprehensive mass transit system that inherently adds more movement to a person’s day. It should also be noted that mass transit correlates to cleaner, more breathable air.
- The city has over 1,034 fast-food restaurants (the most in the country).
- Lastly, Houston’s environment plays a big role. On average, the city experiences over 100 days of 90 degree plus temperatures along with relative humidity. That makes a workout in outdoors feel like a workout in a sauna. Because of this, few make the effort to go out and be active.
When you look at the rest of the city on the “fat list”,
it’s easy to see patterns like high number of fast-food restaurants, lack of
mass transit and high use of cigarettes and alcohol. When combined with
sedentary lifestyles, a recipe of self-destruction is born.
But what makes a fit
city?
The obvious indicators are active citizens and an active
culture. Upcoming Ruckus city, Boston,
rounds out the top 5 fittest cities in America. Bostonians spend 92% less than
the national average on fast-food. Boston also has an engaged mass transit
system and active culture that keeps its residence on the move.
So does that mean that all of our Ruckus cities are “fit
cities”? Not necessarily.
We are looking to help change the way America works out—in
both the “fit” and “fat” cities. We made
sure to schedule Ruckus mud runs in a variety of cities—from the East to West
coasts and all areas in between no matter “fit” or “fat” they may be. As a matter of fact, three Ruckus cities are
on the “fat” list (#20 Atlanta, #22 Kansas City, #23 St. Louis). Our goal here
at Ruckus is to motivate communities by stimulating an active culture and showing
how fun exercise can be! Just because these cities are on the fat list now
doesn’t mean they’ll stay on the fat list forever! Bringing Ruckus to a city is the first
step in the right direction!
What cities should Ruckus come to next? Leave a comment!
What cities should Ruckus come to next? Leave a comment!
