Las Vegas Named Fattest City in U.S. For 2nd Straight Year - 8 News NOW

For the second year in a row, Las Vegas has been named the fattest city in America by Men's Fitness Magazine.

We've been called a lot of things in our time. Sin City. Fat City. And the city of lights. Well, one out of three ain't bad.

But 'sandwiched' in the middle -- fat city -- our newest label, all thanks to Men's Fitness Magazine.

Paul Rosenberg is a personal trainer. "I don't know why we would have that perception. That doesn't seem to make any sense."

He sees crammed parking lots, busy gyms and lot of Las Vegans looking to firm and tone. But the fattest in America?

Retiree Harold Turnbell just doesn't see it. "Unless you go to buffets," he laughs, "when I go to buffet, I do."

Yet at City Hall...

"This magazine is way out of line," says Mayor Oscar Goodman.

Now they've gone and done it again. They messed up Mayor Oscar Goodman's blood pressure. "This morning, I was very aggravated when I saw this; it went through the roof."

The mayor doesn't buy all the supposed scientific studies. Men's Fitness found Las Vegans drink 60-percent more than average, we have 110-percent more fast food restaurants and we just don't have much motivation to go out and run when it's 116 degrees.

So how does a mayor cut back? "Only one bag of Doritos a day. No, just kidding. Only one chocolate bar -- just kidding," he said.

But come on, Men's Fitness. Asking this mayor to cut back on drinking? "I'm the only person in the world who can lose weight on Atkins drinking a bottle of gin a day."

So there we are: fat -- and sassy.

"Maybe I'm biased. That's the problem," said Rosenberg.

Men's Fitness also found some positive things about Las Vegas.

We have more health food stores than the national average, along with 70-percent more gyms than anywhere else. We just have to go out and actually use them.

Here are the bullet points for Las Vegas:

What's Good

• It rains only 26 days per year in Las Vegas. That's the lowest number of rainy days in our survey.

• On any given day in Las Vegas, there's a 21 percent more than average probability of sunshine compared to other cities surveyed.

• Health-food stores are plentiful in Las Vegas: There's one for every 2,971 residents, handily beating the national average of 12,441.

• Our survey has found 82 percent more sporting-goods stores in Las Vegas than average, a good indicator of an active populace.

• On a per capita basis, Las Vegas has 70 percent more gyms and health clubs than average, the 5th highest in our survey.

• Las Vegas residents are 46 percent more likely than average to go in-line skating. That's the 2nd highest in our survey.

• Even the kids in Las Vegas are a blur, with 5.7 percent riding scooters, the 3rd highest in our survey.

• The locals of Las Vegas are 105 percent more likely than average to ride a skateboard - the 2nd highest percentage in our survey.

What Isn't

• Mayor Oscar B. Goodman participates in fewer fitness-related events than most mayors.

• According to the CDC, 39 percent of adults here are lean enough to avoid increased risk of weight-related health problems. That's the 10th worst score of any city in our survey. Compare it to a national average of 58.06 percent.

• In a CDC survey, 28 percent of adults said they hadn't had any leisure time exercise in the past month. The average in our survey is 23 percent

• The CDC says 72 percent of adults are so sedentary that they're putting their health at risk. That's the 6th worst score of any city in our survey. The national average for our survey was 76.35 percent.

• According to Nielsen Media Research, TV viewers in the Las Vegas market spend 25 percent more time in front of the tube than average among cities in our survey.

• Temperatures in Las Vegas top 90 degrees 133 days a year, making outdoor exercise less comfortable.

• Prefer to lift weights 12 ounces at a time? You'll fit in better in Las Vegas than in most places. Per capita, there are 152 percent more bars here than the national average in our survey.

• Las Vegas has 68 municipal parks, among the fewest of any city on a per capita basis, according to our exclusive survey of municipal park departments.

• Las Vegas's park acreage per capita is 81 percent lower than average and the 2nd lowest in our survey. Research has found a connection between access to parks and green space and reduced obesity rates.

• Las Vegas residents participate in sports much less than average - 13 percent less than average, in fact.

• Fast food, widely implicated as a contributor to obesity, is more common in Las Vegas than most places in our survey. In a per capita comparison there are 108 percent more fast-food joints here than average.

• The number of heavy drinkers here is high: Las Vegas has 60 percent more than average and the, 2nd highest in our survey.

• Despite wide availability of local running and biking trails Las Vegas residents are 28 percent less likely than average to jog or cycle, a pattern that cost them points in our Motivation category.  percent less likely than average to jog or cycle, a pattern that cost them points in our Motivation category.

• Although many other states participate in a CDC-sponsored program to reduce obesity and other chronic diseases, Nevada doesn't.

• Las Vegas scored poorly in our Motivation category for weak participation in outdoor activities despite plenty of open space.

• Las Vegas is home to 117 percent more pizza places per capita than the average among cities in our survey.

• Las Vegas lost points in our Motivation category for poor participation rates in running, biking and walking despite a relatively moderate climate.

• There are 26 percent fewer tennis courts per capita here than average among cities in our survey. 

• Basketball courts are practically nonexistent here, among the fewest per capita in our survey. There's just one court here for every 10,626 residents; the national average is one court per 7,260 people.

• Feel like hitting the public pool for a morning swim? Good luck finding an open lane.  Las Vegas has one pool for every 78,934 residents - 64 percent more crowded than average in our survey.

• Ice cream shops are 162 percent more popular in Las Vegas than average.

• Las Vegas residents are  63 percent less likely to play recreational baseball. That's the 3rd lowest participation rate in our survey.

• Just 9 percent of Las Vegas residents exercise with dumbbells. That's 31 percent less than average and the 3rd lowest rate in our survey.

• Almost nobody in Las Vegas participates in low-impact aerobic dancing; the participation rate here is the 3rd lowest of any city in our survey.

• Las Vegas residents are 42 percent less likely than average to do aerobics, the 2nd lowest rate of any city in our survey.

• Locals are 56 percent less likely than average to do aquatic exercise.

• Las Vegas residents are 60 percent less likely than average to go trail-running - the 2nd lowest rate in our survey.

• The residents of Las Vegas are 87 percent less likely than average to ski, the lowest rate of any city in our survey.

• Very few residents of Las Vegas play football - they're 48 percent less likely to play than average, the lowest rate in our survey.

• Las Vegas residents are 54 percent less likely than average to play softball - the lowest participation rate in our survey.