Big City Blues

San Antonio weighs in as one of the fattest cities in America

Big news (but not the good kind).

Big news for Alamo City, but not the good kind: It seems we have some pounds to shed.

The folks at WalletHub have revealed the fattest cities in America, and San Antonio-New Braunfels ranks No. 8. The 100 most populous U.S. metro areas were ranked on metrics ranging from medical issues to environmental healthiness to determine the results.

A big contributing factor to our poor showing is the overall "fat prevalence ranking," which takes into account the percentage of overweight and obese adults, teens, and children. San Antonio ties for the fifth highest percentage of overweight adults — a staggering 38.5 percent. Additionally, 29 percent of the adult population is obese. The statistics paint a dismal picture of our youth too. Sadly, 19.1 percent of local children (ages 10-17) are obese, and 17.5 percent are overweight.

That extra weight leads to serious health problems. The most common weight-related diagnosis among San Antonio adults is high cholesterol (36.4 percent), followed by high blood pressure (34.4 percent) and diabetes (10.3 percent).

Making matters worse is San Antonio's lack of healthy alternatives. Only 13.6 percent of residents have convenient access to healthy food choices in nearby grocery stores, and, as we've already discussed, it's one of the worst places for an active lifestyle.

San Antonio may be the fattest city in Texas, but we're not alone. Dallas-Fort Worth ranks No. 15 and Houston isn't too far behind (No. 22). Memphis, Tennessee, is the fattest of them all, while Honolulu leads on the slim side.

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share the road

Texas is one of the worst places in the nation to ride a bike

Photo by Danist Soh on Unsplash

If you've ridden your bicycle in San Antonio, you already know how true this is.

In what will come as no surprise to cyclists around San Antonio, the state of Texas is not a good place for bicycle riding. According to a new report of the "Most Cycling-Friendly States in the U.S.," Texas comes in at No. 47 — meaning that only three other states are worse.

The report, from Philadelphia personal injury law firm KaplunMarx, examines all 50 states based on six metrics: Air quality index, the number of cyclist deaths per one million residents, bike routes per square mile, local government actions supporting cycling, federal funding for cycling projects, and bicycle laws.

Texas musters a mere 31 points out of 100 for its "cycling friendly score."

The most cycling friendly state in the U.S.: Minnesota, which earned 84 points to claim the title.

According to the report's findings, there have been 15 local government actions per capita in Texas that integrate pedestrians and cyclists in transportation projects. Texas has a 41 air quality index value, and there are approximately 1.2 bike routes per 1,000 square miles in the state.

On cyclist deaths, Texas does a little better, with three cyclist deaths per one million residents in Texas — about nine percent lower than the national average.

According to KaplunMarx founding partner Ted Kaplun, there is an average of 857 cyclist fatalities in the U.S. every year. He adds that every measure or community effort to improve cyclist-friendliness is beneficial for all Americans.

"It's crucial for all states to continually assess and enhance their cycling provisions, learning from both high-ranking peers and their own experiences," he says.

Top-ranking Minnesota has only one cyclist death per one million state residents. It also has about 27.2 bike routes per 1,000 square miles.

After Minnesota, the remaining top five best states for cyclists are Massachusetts (No. 2), Rhode Island (No. 3), Washington (No. 4), and Iowa (No. 5).

At the bottom of the list are Nevada (No. 48), Arizona (No. 49), and Utah (No. 50) — all of which performed far worse than Texas to be declared the three least cycling-friendly states.

The entire country still has areas for improvement when it comes to creating a safer environment for cyclists, regardless of where each state landed on the list, according to Kaplun.

"With over 53 million Americans riding bicycles regularly, the importance of cycling-friendly infrastructure and safety measures cannot be overstated," said Kaplun in the report. "This isn't just about rankings – it's about enhancing the quality of life, promoting sustainable transportation, and most crucially, saving lives."

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