Wow, Bay Area people are really healthy!!!

[gameson]

Check this out!!

Best places to live 2008 - Top 25: Skinniest - from MONEY Magazine

Look at rank 1, 2, 8, 16, and to top it off, these four are the only county that come from California...

[noobified]

My BMI is 21 and I'm from the Bay Area...so....yay!

[powerbookguy]

22.5 here, must be the food and an active lifestyle (for most).

[khamai]

Only proves that you can't be an overweight tree sitter...
Berkeley Tree Sitters

Cheers,
Kiyoshi

[IamBatman]

there are plenty of fat people in the Bay Area, having lots of nature trails & parks definitely help, but I wonder if the large percentage of immigrant population from Asia is a bigger factor in the slim population.

edit... Actually.. not too many immigrants in Marin I think..

[def]

I don't know my BMI, but I'm 6'1 and 155ish, so I'd think its pretty low

And there is a higher concentration of foreigners in the Bay Area, I'd say that helps... bringing all the fat Americans down!

[milehitom]

I see we're pretty well represented in the Denver metro area! Yea! Of course, we have the added benefit of being too woozy from lack of oxygen to remember to eat.

Tom

[IamBatman]

anyone in the bay area going to SR tomorrow AM? I don't have anything going on this sat for once ....

[john2496]

There are no orientals to bring the pleasures of eastern cuisine. Build a few king's buffets in the west coast area, wait 5 years, and then we'll have them down on our level.

[esoteric]

LTer and Bay Area uclacyc needs to get in on this thread. Healthiest person on the planet.

[uclacyc]

Originally Posted by esoteric

LTer and Bay Area uclacyc needs to get in on this thread. Healthiest person on the planet.

How did I get singled out?

Anyway, I'm not surprised at all by the result.

If you think about organic food, it originated in Marin (that's why Prince Charles went to visit Point Reyes Station last year). Marin also has one of the largest concentrations of well-to-do yuppies. Woodside (also in the Bay Area) has the largest concentration of mansions in the world. And on average, people in the Bay Area get paid more than anywhere else in the world, because of high tech (though we end up with less disposable income because of the ridiculous housing prices driven by limited supply and a huge demand). People that are better off financially tend to be healthier, have access to gyms, have more leisure time (b/c they're not working a second job trying to feed seven kids), and have more access to health care because they can either afford it or have jobs that cover them.

And if you think about health-conscious people, you think Bay Area. Just like if you think Internet, you think Silicon Valley (Bay Area).

The BMI is not an accurate measurement, because it doesn't make account for athletes and body builders. It only works for people of normal or no physical activity. I think that body fat would have been a better measurement, but then that's much harder to measure than height and weight.

I myself have a BMI of 22.9, which is normal, but my body fat is 4.9%, which is way below normal. It's actually up a bit from like 4.2% because I've been busy traveling and not hitting the gym 5× a week, 2 hours a day. So you can see how that number can be skewed. Body fat by far is the most accurate way to measure how healthy someone is, because it generally reflects their level of exercise and their diet.

I kinda feel pity for the plump people here in the Bay Area, though, because they really are not seen by others as the norm. Maybe they would be considered average elsewhere like Boston or skinny in the midwest. Then again, I'm also a fatist.

[uclacyc]

Look, the entire state of California just banned trans fats.

State targets trans fats - FIRST IN U.S.: GOVERNOR SIGNS CALIFORNIA BAN

Doesn't affect me too much since I don't have very many enzymes left to digest fried food. I actually get sick eating stuff that's too oily or greasy, or fried or butter.

[Dietsch Werks]

just do what I did! I a acquired a motorsport fitness trainer as a girlfriend. I went from 165 to 148 in just a few months and thats just from cutting the crap from my diet and cooking instead. She agrees with the BMI being a bad measurement. According to the BMI she is overweight when in fact her body fat is 14% (normal for an female athlete) and her weight is 125 - Rob.

[Bavarian Motorist]

LOL, nowhere even near New York is on there...

[uclacyc]

Originally Posted by Bavarian Motorist

LOL, nowhere even near New York is on there...

I concur. I visited my first girlfriend there after not seeing/talking to her for nine year, and she got a little... big. Man, was she offended when I said that. I guess it didn't help that I basically weighed a little less since college, since I lost some muscle.

[Mr. Know]

Go Marin!

I'd say its greatly affected by the number of Vegetarians and Organic nuts here in Marin. I'd also say it comes with the territory. As stated, cost of living in Marin is one of the highest in the country. And many of us have a high level of education and health care. That being said, it really pains me to go visit my relatives in Southeast Texas...the food is so different its staggering and the people really look different for it.

[Bavarian Motorist]

I thought NY was first to ban trans fats.

[uclacyc]

Originally Posted by Bavarian Motorist

I thought NY was first to ban trans fats.

That's the city.
New York City passes trans fat ban - Diet and nutrition - MSNBC.com

For CA, it's the entire state.

[kdawghomie]

Originally Posted by noobified

My BMI is 21 and I'm from the Bay Area...so....yay!

pshhhhhhhh my bmi's 18.4!

wait... am i gonna die from my scrawniness?

[ezmoney]

If the only critera for being healthy is being skinny then I guess Mogadishu Somalia has all of you beat!