Reno ranks as 6th 'least obese' city in the country
(And I can believe it by the people I see on the trail..:)..)
By Martha Bellisle • mbellisle@rgj.com • March 20, 2010
People in Reno exercise more than folks in Denver, eat more vegetables than San Franciscans and have lower blood pressure than the beach-dwellers in San Luis Obispo, Calif., according to a new Gallup poll that surveyed 187 metro areas across the country.
In a study dominated by cities in Colorado and California, Reno stood out for its obsession with outdoor activities and balanced nutrition, making it the sixth "least obese" metro area in the country, the survey found.
Reno also held top 11 positions in the survey's "healthy behavior" indexes, which measured exercise, eating and smoking habits.
"I'm not surprised; this is the best place for exercise," said Nicki Garza, 20, as she roller-skated this week with her friend Amanda McArthur, 28, in the City Plaza in downtown Reno. "My main source of exercise is skating, and this place is perfect."
Leah Wigren, 43, who was riding her bike on a path along the Truckee River, agreed.
"One of the main reasons I live here is the accessibility to skiing and mountain biking, and the bike trails," she said. "And the high-desert climate is great for outdoor activities."
The survey found that 17.7 percent of the people in the Reno-Sparks were obese, compared with a national average of 26.5 percent. The Fort Collins-Loveland, Colo., area ranked first with a 16 percent obesity rate, with Boulder, Colo., coming in a close second with a 16.6 percent obesity ranking.
To determine the percentage of obese residents, the Gallup-Healthways poll collected the height and weight data on 353,000 adults in a telephone survey between Jan. 2 and Dec. 29, 2009. The poll's margin of error 0.2 percent.
Pollsters also asked questions about fitness and health to set rankings for healthy behavior, community conditions and physical health.
The Reno-Sparks area was seventh on the behavior scale, with high scores on questions that included whether the person ate healthy yesterday, eats fruits and vegetables frequently, exercises often and smokes.
The Reno region was 11th on the community conditions survey, which asked about easy access to fruits and veggies, a safe place to exercise, whether community members had enough money for food and had health insurance.
And Reno was fourth in the physical health index, which measured the percentage of people with diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and heart attacks
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