Philly named nation's fattest city; Minneapolis one of fittest

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- A fitness magazine has pronounced Philadelphia the flabbiest, least fit city in the nation. Considering the prevalence cheesesteaks, Tastykakes and soft pretzels here, maybe that's not such a surprise.

''We're the junk food capital of America. Given all those temptations, it's no wonder that we're a little on the heavy side,'' said Philadelphia Mayor Edward G. Rendell, who scarfed more than his fair share of cheesesteaks before dropping 30 pounds recently.

Kansas City, Mo., Houston, Indianapolis and New Orleans are the other fattest cities, according to a study in the January issue of Men's Fitness.

The healthiest cities in the country are San Diego, Minneapolis, Seattle, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.

Jeff Lucia, the magazine's executive editor, said the survey is meant to be a ''wake-up call about the very serious problem of obesity.''

''Maybe the most important thing about this survey is it gets people talking and doing something about their city's overall health level,'' he said.

Dr. Albert Stunkard, a psychiatrist and obesity researcher at the University of Pennsylvania, called the difference among cities ''trivial'' but said the magazine makes a cogent point.

''We think of staying fit as a personal choice, but actually it depends a lot on the institutions and the environment,'' Stunkard said.

The magazine based its ranking of the 50 largest cities on an analysis of 29 categories, including obesity, exercise and smoking rates, TV-watching habits, climate, and the number of health clubs and sporting goods stores.

According to the magazine's study, nearly 30 percent of Philadelphia residents are obese, while only 16 percent exercise regularly. The city has a high number of fast food restaurants (it has 498 pizza shops, more than any other city surveyed), but only 59 fitness centers and gyms.

The study ranked Pittsburgh the 14th fattest city.

The magazine, on newsstands Dec. 14, also found that:

-- In Kansas City, 32 percent are obese and only 8 percent belong to a fitness club. At the same time, city residents can pig out at any of the 60 barbecue joints.

-- Houston has higher-than-average TV viewing combined with a lower-than-average exercise rate (18 percent). Twenty-nine percent are obese. Long commutes add to stress levels and contribute to poor air quality, the magazine said.

-- Smoking and TV-watching are more prevalent in Indianapolis than other cities, and only 17 percent exercise.

-- New Orleans has the lowest percent of exercisers (under 11 percent) and the highest rate of obesity (38 percent). A large number of residents smoke, drink and watch a lot of TV.

Men's Fitness said the residents of the healthiest cities get lots of exercise, don't watch a lot of TV and refrain from smoking.

Of Minneapolis, ranked the second fittest city in the nation, the magazine said: ''Minneapolis is a remarkably fit city -- proof that it's possible to live a fit lifestyle almost anywhere, despite one of the worst climate ratings in our survey.'' It noted that Minneapolis had the lowest Nielsen ratings, with an average of less than 31 percent of sets turned on at any given point in the day.

A separate study released this week by The Health Network, a consumer group, ranked Detroit as the least fit city, followed by Fresno, Calif.; Kansas City; St. Louis; and Philadelphia. Atlanta; Virginia Beach, Va.; Washington; Boston; and Charlotte, N.C., were the healthiest cities, the study found. Minneapolis was ranked 10th.