America's fattest cities 2002 - 4th Annual Report

Men's Fitness, Feb, 2002 by Keith Griffiths

7 SAN ANTONIO

ROUGH RIDING

REPORT CARD

Healthy habits:           D 
Fat factors:              C-
Deadly sins:              D
Air and water:            B-
Natural environment:      D
Urban attributes:         C-

How did San Antonio take the plunge into fatness, joining the great Texas herd? It's all relative. More TV, more junk food and less exercise, combined with updated statistics showing a decline in air quality and new figures on (the lack of) sports participation, added up to bring the town down. You'll find relatively few fitness centers and training facilities, but bars are plentiful. San Antonio boasts an above-average commute, but its climate index and geography can discourage the fit-minded. There are three jogging trails downtown, but each one is only a mile long. And so it goes.

Yet San Antonio is notorious for bucking trends. Incidence of lung cancer is comparatively low, and nutrition seems to have improved--though we're not sure if this is helped or hurt by the annual Fiesta Oyster Bake.

STUFF THE FIT-MINDED CAN DO: The Alamo is one of five missions that stretch down the nine-mile Mission Trails; walk them all and you have a solid workout. McAllister Park, near the airport, includes seven miles of hiking and biking trails. The Marathon of the Americas in November also offers a two-person relay and a 5K run. Parks, shopping and restaurants dot the Paseo del Rio (that's the Riverwalk to the gringos); you can't imagine a more pleasant place to exercise your legs (a lot) while indulging your taste buds (a little) on a hot evening in August.

8 FORT WORTH

WHERE THE WEIGHT BEGINS

REPORT CARD

Healthy habits:           C
Fat factors:              D
Deadly sins:              D 
Air and water:            B-
Natural environment:      D-
Urban attributes:         C

Did Butch Cassidy and his gang have this problem when they hid out in Hell's Half Acre? The residents know that obesity is a problem--a third of them admitted as much to pollsters from the health department--but that hasn't made them put down their breakfast burritos. Then again, Hell's Half Acre is now Sundance Square, so maybe another attitude shift is possible.

One positive step would be to hydrate more, especially since the local agua is highly drinkable. While ratings in climate, geography and air quality tend to discourage those less motivated, the number of people who participate in aerobics suggests that exercise is definitely doable.

Where does the fat come from? For a start, too much TV and too much junk food. With 73 doughnut shops, Fort Worth beats the runner-up in this per-capita category by nearly 20 percent. And if all those raised glazed make you sick, watch out: Access to health-care here ranks near the bottom.

STUFF THE FIT-MINDED CAN DO: The Cowtown Marathon offers 5Ks, 10Ks and three-man relays. There are 32 miles of paved surfaces for biking, walking and skating at Trinity Trails, which winds along the Trinity River. It's not the running of the bulls; but check out the Fort Worth Herd cattle drive through the Stockyards Station. In October, mosey on down to the Red Steagall Cowboy Gathering and Western Swing Festival