Editorial: Trying to fight fat in Sin City

Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2006 | 8:23 a.m.

When Men's Fitness magazine's annual roundup named Las Vegas the nation's second-fattest city, critics couldn't jump on it fast enough. The magazine's study wasn't based on scientific data, they said, but rather on odd information such as the number of fast-food joints and parks per capita.

But the magazine's America's Fattest Cities survey is designed to examine how a city's environment may contribute to obesity, not how much residents weigh. And Las Vegas did pretty well in some areas.

Las Vegas has more public basketball courts per capita than most cities surveyed and has an above-average number of health food stores and gyms. The obesity rate was lower than average, and 25 percent of our adults get enough exercise -- better than average.

However, the Las Vegas Valley scored poorly in nutrition, health care, air quality and the commuting environment. And, the study says, the city still doesn't have enough parks. But it didn't include county parks, and one look around the valley reveals a significant regional investment in places where people can walk, run, play soccer and tennis or toss a Frisbee.

We can, and should, pressure local agencies and elected officials to continue adding parks and improving air quality, the transportation environment and health care access. As individuals, however, we should take advantage of the parks, trails and recreation facilities that already exist. If we have to wait for improvements, we may as well work up a sweat while we're doing it.