Miami is fat (no, not phat, FAT)

January 14, 12:39 PMWeight Loss ExaminerGail Gedan Spencer

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The state of health in South Florida is misleading because the rest of the country sees hot bodies in bikinis. It's the same as everywhere else. There are a lot of overweight people.

Me, on BL in March. (Bad screenshot, I know.)

That was yours truly, being interviewed for the beginning of a March episode of The Biggest Loser. The NBC show was in South Florida, one of the stops on its Million Pound Matchup tour. The network stopped at the fattest cities in America and Miami was one of them.

Now, today we learn that the Magic City is the Fattest City in America. Men's Fitness magazine bestowed the title to the home of the home of the Whopper (Burger King lives here). The results are in the February issue.

When you think of Miami, you think of people being outdoors showing off their bodies, so this surprised us, says editor-in-chief Roy Johnson.

South Florida also happens to be the home of Slim-Fast and two dueling cookie diets, as well as the South Beach Diet and eDiets.com, so we're up to our necks in fat, sir.

How did Miami gain its title? According to USA Today, Miami received poor marks because of a large number of overweight people, a high rate of TV viewing among residents, long commutes and poor air quality. The city has almost three times as many fast-food restaurants as the average city. And participation is low in outdoor activities such as biking, running and fitness walking.

Are you shocked? Have you tried to workout outdoors in a Miami summer? Yeccch. If the humidity doesn't get ya, the mosquitoes will. Or perhaps the insane drivers. Or a low-flying police helicopter.

So what city was the fittest? Salt Lake City, Utah. It has lower obesity rates, many athletically motivated residents, low TV viewing and abundance of parks and fitness centers. And all those Mormons who don't drink Pepsi and Frappuccinos.