Honolulu loses top
ranking for fitness

Honolulu is no longer the fittest city in the United States, dropping to second behind Seattle, according to the February issue of Men's Fitness magazine.

Now we're No. 2 The top five fittest and fattest U.S. cities, according to a survey in Men's Fitness: Fittest cities: 1. Seattle 2. Honolulu 3. Colorado Springs, Colo. 4. San Francisco 5. Denver Fattest cities: 1. Houston 2. Philadelphia 3. Detroit 4. Memphis, Tenn. 5. Chicago

"It's wonderful just to be in the top five," said Raul Boca, multisport training authority in Honolulu and director of Boca Hawaii LLC, a triathlon training club.

Colorado Springs, Colo., San Francisco and Denver took the next three spots.

Hawaii's weather and natural beauty makes it the perfect place for people to take care of their health and fitness, said Boca. Climate and the amount of parks and open space per capita are two of 14 factors the magazine used to compare 50 U.S. cities.

But Boca feels if residents exercise more by walking and bicycling instead of driving, they can reduce the number of cars on Oahu roadways and relieve some of the stress brought on by long periods of sitting in traffic. The amount of time it takes for daily commutes is another factor the magazine used.

Other factors include the number of sporting-goods stores, gyms, fitness studios, fast-food restaurants, TV watching, and air and water quality.

Exercising faithfully and shunning fast food boosted Seattle to the top from No. 6 last year, Neal Boulton Men's Fitness editor in chief, said.

"Eighty-five percent of Seattle residents get some exercise every month, and that's a really significant thing," Boulton said. The city's jittery love affair with espresso might fuel some of that activity, he noted. "There's not only a lot of it, it's pretty darn strong."