HikeArizona.COM

Fit Cities
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nati ... /84492256/

Most fit
1) Washington D.C.
2) Minneapolis
3) Denver
4) Portland
5) San Francisco

Least fit
1) Indianapolis
2) Oklahoma City
3) Louisville
4) Memphis
5) Nashville

chumley wrote:we all view things through our own perspective.

maybe if we would accept that this is not an appropriate way to conduct science-- issues like these might not be such a "great mystery". I feel like a similar argument must arise frequently with anti-vaxxers.

Back to the original post, a couple things to point out:

1) The geographer in me couldn't help but point out: the Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale MSA is simply the entirety of Maricopa and Pinal Counties, so all of these metrics are being evaluated at that scale. Are "health characteristics" consistent across that area? Maybe, maybe not, but I think we're already seeing people note the regional variation in some of these

2) The choice of metrics always changes the result, and you can definitely tell that our mountain parks and preserves are pushing our score higher there. But look at some of those other metrics: farmers markets per capita, Walk score, population within 10 minutes' walk of a park. These are classic metrics always chosen by urban planners. You could easily change those to focus on grocers offering healthy food, or miles of bike paths along canals/washes, and the story of Phoenix's health might change. The health indicators (CDC variables) are definitely good to consider, and we could use some work there.

Ok, nerd talk over!

@sbkelley
Hey now. The HAZ forum is a fact- and science-free zone. [-X

We will have none of this! ;)

So I live pretty much in the middle of three different Fry's locations. A world of difference between the location on 20th Street and the one a few miles down the road on Thomas & 32nd Street. Plus Fry's stocks better food at the location on 20th Street. I see fit people at one Fry's and obese people at the other one. It's almost sad to shop at the Fry's on Thomas, see the people with a cart loaded with soda, cheap carbs, junk food and microwave meals.

It's almost sad to....see the people with a cart loaded with soda, cheap carbs, junk food and microwave meals

chumley wrote:@sbkelley
Hey now. The HAZ forum is a fact- and science-free zone.

This coming from the Don of the weather thread.... ;)

@sbkelley Well sure. But those posts are primarily emotion and hyperbole with a side of reddit memes.

Tough_Boots wrote:I wonder if it occurs to thin people that often they are just naturally thin

You're entirely right... I was born thin and have been thin all my life, often, to my dismay. I have a hard time relating to people that are overweight and often blame them and their style of living for the condition they are in.

Today, at 75 years old, I sometimes have to force myself to get out and pound the trails and it's an intentional effort to keep myself from putting on weight that, at some point, I may not be able to overcome. I like my daily beer(s) and I eat good, sometimes a bit too much, but that's the impetus that drives me to put on my hiking boots and get out on another calorie burning hike.

I hate inactivity, if I'm sitting around in front of the computer for an extended period of time, I will force myself to get outside and do something active, even if it only amounts to walking around the house or taking a walk up and down the streets.

joebartels wrote:Most fit
1) Washington D.C.
2) Minneapolis
3) Denver
4) Portland
5) San Francisco

This really perplexes me, born and raised in the Minnesota and Wisconsin area, we have nowhere near the hiking opportunities that I witness here in Arizona and yet that area ranks 2nd and Arizona 35th. To see Arizonan's scrambling up the mountains, hiking the deserts, riding their bikes on and off road, climbing rocks and even frequenting gyms. You just don't have that kind of outlet in the North Country.

The biggest difference I can arrive at is the 365 days available for getting outside up there. Summertime always has everybody outside, Springtime is the most difficult period (IMHO) with the unpredictable weather fronts, Autumn is the hunting time of year and just getting out enjoying the colorful sights and Winter, ahhh yes winter, is just plain mad time with skiing, snowmobiling, hockey, ice fishing, sledding with the kids, even the nasty job of shoveling snow from the driveway.

I've only been in Arizona for a couple of the hot summer months over the past few years but now I'm going to be a full time resident and I can already see that the trailheads are becoming deserted as the hikers head to the higher elevations to get their fix and for the working class, this is only on weekends. Arizona seems to not have the same 365 day activity schedule that I had been used to.... just saying.

chumley wrote:@sbkelley Well sure. But those posts are primarily emotion and hyperbole with a side of reddit memes.

What is your u/

I guess we all live in relative proximity to one another, as I was referring to the Wholefoods on 20th St and Highland. The Fry's across the street, which is under construction, does seem like an a-typical one. Not as much for the fitness of the shoppers, but because I noted the frankness of the same-sex couples in it last year when I moved here from Tucson. Whatever, it just surprised me, as where I was in Tucson was really basically Marana, and that is a breeding farm for humans. Alamogordo, Kayenta, and even Flagstaff, are not places one expects to see such things.

Back to the thread direction, I usually note that in either the Wholefoods on 20th ST or the Sprouts on Glendale, that at certain times of day, there are a large number of people who obviously just left the gym, or yoga, or whatever it is that normal people do besides hiking, for fitness. I find gym attire humorous, as I don't wear that, just normal street clothes, for me. Sandals, shorts, and a regular T-shirt.

azbackpackr wrote:In the poor neighborhoods you'll see a higher level of diet ignorance: baskets full of sodas and sugary processed foods.

As others have pointed out, it may not be ignorance so much as having access to resources. I know that the Hot Pockets I get for lunches are not very healthy for me, but that jumbo pack will feed me for half a month of lunches for under $10, for example.

The Surgeon General says we need to exercise more.

Surgeon General Recommends Exercising Once Every Several Months During Flash Of Panic About Health

https://www.theonion.com/article/surgeo ... ry-s-54731

chumley wrote:

Surgeon General Recommends Exercising Once Every Several Months During Flash Of Panic About Health

This pretty much describes most of my family. But who am I to judge, I used to be the same way too... If you don't like your method of exercise, you're probably not going to do it. "Motivation" is fleeting.

PaleoRob wrote:I know that the Hot Pockets I get for lunches are not very healthy for me, but that jumbo pack will feed me for half a month of lunches

I first heard this hiding from the rain in a tent along the Colorado River below Royal Arch