The result of the annual analysis of US cities by Men’s Fitness magazine has revealed that Houston is the fattest city in the nation for the second year running.


In an analysis of the 50 largest US cities, due to be published in the February edition of the magazine, Houston boasts a low exercise and sports participation among its residents, and a high TV viewer-ship. Men’s Fitness concludes: “There’s not much that individuals can do about the poor air quality and even less about problematic geography, but they can turn off the tube and get out to their parks, which offer a variety of free programs for kids and adults.”


The 16 categories on which the cities were judged included; overweight and obesity rates, junk food outlets, gyms/sporting goods retailers, fruit and vegetable consumption, participation in exercise/sports, alcohol use, smoking, TV viewing, air quality, water quality, climate index, geography, commute time, parks/open spaces, recreation facilities and health care access.


Other cities that came in top of the fat ranking are Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia and Dallas.


On the flipside, the fittest, leanest cities in the USA were recognised as Colorado Springs, Denver, San Diego, Seattle and San Francisco. The magazine suggests that residents in these towns, which tend to be in the west of the country, are not faced with the hot, sweaty summers and freezing winters that may deter sports activity.

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The magazine claims that the motivation behind the survey was to get the American public focused on the issue of healthy weight and obesity. According to federal statistics, 61% of the overall population are too heavy, and around 27% are obese.