America's fattest city found

Sixstrings · **Joined:** Tue Jul 08, 2008 12:00 am **Posts:** 1699

Quote:

Huntington, W.Va., is called a warning for the rest of U.S.

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — The obese mayor of America's fattest and unhealthiest city says health is not a big local issue.

"It doesn't come up," said David Felinton, 5-foot-9 and 233 pounds, as he walked toward City Hall one recent morning. "We've got a lot of economic challenges here in Huntington. That's usually the focus."

Nearly half the adults in Huntington's five-county metropolitan area are obese—an astounding percentage, far bigger than the national average in a country with a well-known weight problem.

Huntington leads in a half-dozen other illness measures, too, including heart disease and diabetes, according to a U.S. health report. It's even tops in the percentage of elderly people who have lost all their teeth (half of them).

Culture and history are at least part of the problem, health officials say.

For decades, Huntington thrived with coal mines to its south. Nearly 90,000 people lived in the city in 1950. The traditional diet was dense with calories burned off through manual labor.

But as the coal industry modernized and the economy changed, manufacturing jobs left. The city's population is now fewer than 50,000, and chronic diseases—many of them connected to obesity—seem much more common.

Nurse Shari Wiley runs a program that identifies heavy school children and tries to teach them better eating and exercise habits. The effort began because of an alarming trend.

"A lot of the patients we were seeing were getting heart attacks in their 30s," she said.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/ ... 2428.story

Heineken · **Posted:** Mon Nov 17, 2008 8:47 pm

deleted---dupe post

Heineken · **Posted:** Mon Nov 17, 2008 8:47 pm

I think the problems of Huntington are repeated throughout West Virginia, most of the rural South, and most poor urban areas. Singling out one city seems like the typical silly game the media love to engage in.

Wherever you find ignorance and poverty, American style, you will find massive health problems.

timmac · **Posted:** Tue Nov 18, 2008 12:36 am

So in other words W Va is just a bunch of fat stupid toothless hillbillies who's main production is moonshine.

galacticsurfer · **Joined:** Wed Nov 09, 2005 1:00 am **Posts:** 406

I read about this stuff happening now globally. In 3rd world rapidly developing countries eating like in the West fast food and living in cities without physical labour weights are exploding. Thailand, China, whatever. This is the American Disease, fat + debt,etc.

The cure??? PO

SuperTico · **Posted:** Tue Nov 18, 2008 4:16 am

galacticsurfer wrote:

I read about this stuff happening now globally. In 3rd world rapidly developing countries eating like in the West fast food and living in cities without physical labour weights are exploding. Thailand, China, whatever. This is the American Disease, fat + debt,etc.

The cure??? PO

YOU ARE in the third world amigo..........

galacticsurfer · **Joined:** Wed Nov 09, 2005 1:00 am **Posts:** 406

The US South is similar to 3rd world as it developed industry later and moved away from it later. People go through phases quicker in NICs as in The West where we have had time to adjust our habits to the extreme amount of excess sugary foods and lack of physical work to adopt for example a meidterranean diet on purpose to avoid heart disease. I am in Germany by the way and thin and bike to work and have no car.

DoomWarrior · **Posted:** Tue Nov 18, 2008 5:11 am

Sixstrings wrote:

Quote:

Huntington, W.Va., is called a warning for the rest of U.S.

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — The obese mayor of America's fattest and unhealthiest city says health is not a big local issue.

"It doesn't come up," said David Felinton, 5-foot-9 and 233 pounds, as he walked toward City Hall one recent morning. "We've got a lot of economic challenges here in Huntington. That's usually the focus."

Here's a photo of David Felinton, the obese mayor of America's fattest city.

IgnoranceIsBliss · **Posted:** Tue Nov 18, 2008 7:16 am

I wish these fatsos would have a fast crash rather than a slow crash. The former is much more affordable for our healthcare system!

Minvaren · **Posted:** Tue Nov 18, 2008 7:22 am

galacticsurfer wrote:

I read about this stuff happening now globally. In 3rd world rapidly developing countries eating like in the West fast food and living in cities without physical labour weights are exploding. Thailand, China, whatever. This is the American Disease, fat + debt,etc.

The cure??? PO

There was a bit on NPR last week about all of the doctors beginning to specialize in diabetes in India. "Sedentary lifestyle and poor diet" were still mentioned as the two main causes. They even mentioned a few doctors who traveled between small cities/villages to treat all of the people developing the disease.

By the way, Houston TX is no longer the fattest city. We built a bunch of sidewalks and bike lanes. Not that anyone uses them, but they're there now!

firestarter · **Joined:** Sun Mar 19, 2006 1:00 am **Posts:** 1194

It's dumb to single out Huntington, which btw has one of the best high school basketball programs in the U.S.

People are fat EVERYWHERE in the U.S.--sheesh!

Sixstrings · **Joined:** Tue Jul 08, 2008 12:00 am **Posts:** 1699

Quote:

Here's a photo of David Felinton, the obese mayor of America's fattest city.

Uhm... that's obese? Oh my. I hate to say it, but the mayor's weight is just average for up there.

It is sort of nasty.. Big city reporter comes to small town, mayor is courteous enough to grant an interview. And the reporter calls the mayor fat right in the article.

Maybe there needs to be more balance with this story. I'm not a statistician or scientiest, but I'm willing to bet more gross obesity can be found in places like American Soma, Hawaii (they love their Spam), and the Indian reservations. Especially American Somoa, some big people there.

vaseline2008 · **Joined:** Mon Apr 28, 2008 12:00 am **Posts:** 207

Here is a map I found at the CDC website:

Heineken · **Posted:** Tue Nov 18, 2008 8:33 pm

What do the percentages refer to? Percentage of the state's population above ideal body weight?

I'd like to say, as an aside, that I've been to West Virginia and found the people to be tough, gritty, proud, and rather more self-sufficient than most of us. Friendly, too, if they decide they like you.

All the abuse that gets heaped on West Virginia troubles me.

It's a very interesting state to visit. Different. A lot of beauty mixed in with the ugly. Down in the hollers you'll see amazing vistas of poverty.

Overall not a bad state for "prep"-type relocation. Cheap land. Good rainfall. Cool summers, great for growing fruit.

GASMON · **Posted:** Thu Nov 20, 2008 2:59 pm

galacticsurfer wrote:

I read about this stuff happening now globally. In 3rd world rapidly developing countries eating like in the West fast food and living in cities without physical labour weights are exploding. Thailand, China, whatever. This is the American Disease, fat + debt,etc.

The cure??? PO

Agree. Just back from holiday in Thailand. "Westernised" fast food joints everywhere. KFC, McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Dunkin Donuts you name it (except the good old English fish & chip shop !!!).

Ever heard of Pak Chong ?. - No, neither had I 'til the other week. A pleasant small town in Thailand on the main road from Bangkok to the East. Just outside town is a brand new Tesco Lotus store. Stopped for fuel & had a look inside, yes the above franchises all there, all full of young Thais, eating western fast food. No, we didn't eat there. I dont fly 6000 miles to eat fast food. Especially when Thailand has probably the most delicious food on this planet.

I'm not a hater of fast food, or fish & chips, we use them occasionally ourselves. Quick cheap and convenient BUT the important word being occasionally.

PO may well be the cure.

Gasmon

America's fattest city found

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