health sense
Moving Toward Fitness By Cynthia Ladson
Since 2010 when San Antonio had the dubious distinction of being dubbed the fattest city in the United States, officials have worked to try and shed the weight of the unflattering title. In 2010 a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that 31 percent of San Antonio residents were obese and 65 percent were overweight. While city officials were not pleased with San Antonio’s ranking in 2010, its residents were none too pleased either. Nor were they overjoyed when in 2012 former All-Star turned NBA analyst (Sir) Charles Barkley took the city to task about the “fattest city” title. Since receiving the ranking, city officials have made it their business to make fitness a priority. And the effort seem to be paying off. Last year the city was ranked the 25th fittest city by Men’s Fitness magazine. This year’s rankings are not yet out, but given the wellness initiatives introduced by the city and the number of San Antonians working out these days, many with kids in tow, it appears the city should have little problem staying off the fattest list again this year. Audrey and Joseph Rost and their 2-year-old son Ezequiel travel across town three to four times a week for a family workout at McAllister Park. The Rosts run while their son rides along in his jogging stroller. And to his delight, little Ezequiel is whisked out of his stroller during his parents’ cool down walk and becomes an active participant in the family fitness routine. “After cooling down, we all go to the playground where he gets to run around,” says Audrey. Twenty-three-year-old Ashley Perry says she thinks it is important that her children stay active and busy. The mother of three sees to it that her kids exercise with her daily. “We run or walk usually. Then we do things like coming to the park where they get to climb, run and jump here on the playground.” Anne Marie Bisch uses the trails in the park as well as city-installed fitness equipment. “I think it’s great 28
Our Kids Magazine | March 2013
they have it out here.” Funds for the equipment were provided by a federal grant. Adding fitness stations at about 14 parks was just one of several things officials did to try and improve the city’s health and fitness image. Jason Ross, 28, who works out between three and four times a week, says he thought the 2010 report was pretty accurate. “But I’ve seen a lot of immediate changes and long-term changes in terms of nutrition in San Antonio since then.” A recent poll of several area gyms and fitness centers indicates that workouts are brisk there as well. “The YMCA has seen an increase in membership over the last year,” says Laura Waldrum, director of marketing and public relations for the YMCA of Greater San Antonio, while stressing that it is possible for the whole famility to workout at a YMCA facility. Last year the YMCA took the lead in spearheading the city’s Síclovía program. Síclovía is a family event in which downtown streets are closed to cars and other vehicles and open only to walkers, runners, and bicyclists. The event has been a success and Waldrum says they are looing at increasing attendance at this years’s events. The next Síclovía is planned for April. After participating in last year’s Síclovía, Joey Palacios, KSTX-FM reporter, decided to make fitness a priority. He has since learned to cycle using the city’s B-cycle program. Palacios says he made other