Colorado Has the Fourth Lowest Obesity Rate in the Nation

Many solutions have been considered when fighting the Battle of the Bulge. Many more than were likely considered by the World War II generals who fought the battle of the same name that took place in Europe. A new and novel idea has it that those looking to lose a little weight should move to Colorado. A recently released report show the Western state has the fourth lowest rate of obesity of any other state in the union.

A number of factors contribute to the low ranking obesity. The state provides ready access to parks and other outdoor activities, but the state itself with its 300 days of sunshine a year on average and much less rainy climate than say, Seattle seems to attract more physically active people to live in the state. Although if this were true, it would not explain the other 3 lowest states in obesity rating, all of which are in the New England region.

While Colorado has many outdoor lakes and mountains whose total area is roughly six times that of Switzerland, it may seem like that the available outdoor activities alone are enough to get more people outside, Denver itself boasts some 85 miles of bike trails for the use of its citizens and city planners are taking small steps like posting how many steps it takes to get between buildings to further encourage the residents to walk to nearby destinations. In fact, delegates to the 2008 Democratic party convention may be given pedometers for attending.

Do not think Denver itself is all about fitness and exercise. The first cheeseburger was invented here and the city is also the nation's largest beer brewer. Other states with less favorable climates may not be able to change that, but they can at least look to Colorado for ways to make their citizens more active and lower their rankings. For my purposes however, I'll stay in the Keystone state. Pennsylvania Dutch cuisine is simply too good to be passed up and as for a pedometer, my personal preference will be to put a speedometer on my bicycle or sign up for the fencing classes once they start again, and if you think that Pennsylvania Dutch food is not a good enough reason to stay in a region you've obviously never had it or only had scrapple. Although if I had the equipment and suitable places to Kayak, I might take that up as well.

Sources:

http://www.abcnews.go.com/Health/Fitness/Story?id=3529506&page=1