Waist issues: Vegas ranks 16th among ‘Fattest Cities’

Heather Rawlyk

Monday, Jan. 5, 2004 | 11:19 a.m.

Las Vegas, home of free drinks, the all-you-can-eat buffet and padded seats for slot machines, appears to be getting fatter.

The city ranked 16th in the top 20 "Blubber Belt" cities in the nation, according to the sixth annual survey of "America's Fattest Cities" by Men's Fitness magazine.

Las Vegas was No. 18 in the previous survey.

The results will be published in the magazine's February issue, due out this month.

Detroit took top honors as the fattest city, followed by Houston, Dallas, San Antonio and Chicago.

Las Vegas took second place in the survey in most alcohol consumed per capita, losing out only to Washington, D.C.

Casinos, buffets and fast-food eateries topped the list of local contributors to obesity, according to Las Vegas residents who participated in a MensFitness.com poll. According the the magazine, Las Vegas has an high number of junk-food joints -- one per every 793 residents. Only three cities had higher ratios.

People exercising at a local Gold's Gym on Sunday agreed.

Jaime Meza, a Spanish teacher at Mojave High School, said food and alcohol were big contributors to the city's obesity.

"Too many buffets and a lot of parties," Meza said. "There are a lot of beer drinkers here."

Meza said the city is not likely to change its habits.

"Nothing's going to change," he said. "There is too much cheap food and too much partying. That's all people do, they work, eat and party."

The 24-year-old said he is fighting the trend because he enjoys weightlifting.

"I was bitten by the weightlifting bug five years ago," he said. "I try to get to Gold's Gym at least five times a week."

Meza added that America's children are less physically active, which leads to obesity.

"There's a lot of kids playing (Sony) Playstation and watching TV," he said. "Kids are sitting on the couch and not getting outside like they used to."

Jason McCloud, 26, who relocated to Las Vegas from Maui three days ago, said although he is new, he's already seeing the vices the city has to offer.

"Food is cheap here and it's everywhere," he said. "There are deals for food all over the place. Advertisements are everywhere to just eat till you drop."

McCloud said he was a Gold's Gym member in Hawaii.

"I have been a member for four or five years," he said. "I had gained a lot of weight and wanted to get it off. I've just kept it up."

Fatima Eltamer, 35, got off her couch Sunday and jumped on a Gold's Gym stair machine.

"I'm here to lose weight," she said. "I'm not working and was sitting at home and getting gooey. I wanted to work out and get some energy."

Eltamer said she was not surprised Las Vegas ranked among the most obese.

"There's a lot of fast food and Burger King," she said. "That kind of stuff. People eat fast food and sit and gamble. They don't work it off, they just sit. Plus the city's open 24 hours and so are some food places. People are eating all the time."

It seems a few locals may have a stay-in-shape spirit. Las Vegas residents participating in the online poll said weather, fitness centers and "spectacular outdoor playgrounds" were among attributes encouraging fitness.

Diane Muschetto, 37, said she exercises because it makes her feel better.

"I've been coming (to the gym) for almost a year," she said. "It makes me feel better when I work out. It just makes you have energy and feel good."

The magazine used 14 categories to determine the fattest cities, including the number of health clubs and sporting goods stores and the number of fast-food, ice cream and doughnut shops per capita, air quality, climate, television viewing trends and the availability of health care.

The magazine found Las Vegas has the second-highest ratio of sporting goods stores, the third-highest ratio of health food stores, and the fifth-highest ratio of gyms and fitness clubs.

But Nevada is also full of vices: The magazine found that no other state has a higher percentage of smokers.