Slimmest City in the Country = Fort Collins, Colorado by Michael Arloski, Ph.D., PCC

When the Fort Collins/Loveland, Colorado topped the Gallup Poll research as being the least obese metro area in the United States, those of us who live here were proud, but not very surprised. It is evident that things are a bit different here…in a good way.

Looking at more than just the BMI results, Gallup explored income, health habits and access to both healthy foods and safe places to exercise. Again, there were great disparities. Check out the details at http://www.gallup.com/poll/126362/Good-Health-Habits-N orm-Slimmest-Metro-Areas.aspx?CSTS=alert .

So, what makes Fort Collins so special? Many people in Fort Collins relocated here to live in an area where outdoor recreation opportunity abounds, so many people moved here already valuing healthy lifestyles. Our population, while aging like everywhere else, tends to be young. We also tend to remain active, very active. Peer health norms here are very positively skewed toward activity and healthy eating, a great deal of contact with nature and a high degree of social connection, perhaps the perfect formula for wellness! Most of the people I know personally, who range from their late twenties to their early sixties, are almost all actively involved in bike-riding, walking, hiking, dancing, skiing (both downhill and cross-country), and/or have a membership at a health club.

We still go to movies, have sedentary jobs, eat ice cream and pizza, but we also are just as likely to get together with friends around a planned hike, bike ride or picnic outdoors, or spend a weekend night out vigorously dancing. The peer health norms support this type of fun activity, it’s what folks tend to do here when they get together. Health club membership levels are very high as well. Gallup found that “Half or more of residents in all of the least obese areas report exercising for at least 30 minutes three or more days per week.”

Our city is riddled with bike paths that avoid city streets and follow rivers a nd creeks along scenic parklands (kudos to a city parks department with vision and state lottery funding). The foothills of the Rocky Mountains begin at the very edge of our city limits. Enough said, we do indeed have access to safe activity-oriented recreation.

Access to affordable healthy food is another factor, and having the income to spend on it. In the ten least obese areas in the country residents indicated that, for the most part they had both of these factors working for them.

Part of what puts communities like ours at the top of the list, and places like Boulder, Colorado, a close second, are sociological. Younger populations, higher than average income and educational levels probably give us advantages that we can claim little credit for. Though many of the places who made the top 10 on this Gallup Pole have advantages it still poses the questions - how did places like Fort Collins, and others in the top ten like Barnstable Town, MA, and San Louis Obispo, CA, consciously develop healthier communities? How can other communities follow suit?

Further, from the wellness professional’s perspective, what can we learn from the information about healthy and unhealthy communities? The quick answer is “a gold mine”! We need to mine this information and look at both what works and what we wellness workers, and our clients, are up against.

I’ll be exploring these questions further in my new blog: Real Balance Wellness: Wellness Wisdom and Wanderings (http://realbalancewellness.wordpress.com/).

A Great Conference for Learning
A Great Conference for Meeting Others
Great Preconference Certification Programs Great People! Great Fun!

Preconference Information here!

Conference Information here!

National Wellness Conference Information - pdf

Free webinar - Wednesday, May 26^th (12:00-12:30 pm Eastern Time) Available to the first 25 people who register. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

"Coaching Presence - Creating the Optimal Environment for Change"