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Publication
praises city for
women’s fitness

Health magazine names
Honolulu the third best city in
making fitness accessible

By Mary Adamski
Star-Bulletin

A national magazine has named Honolulu one of America's 10 fittest cities for women.

The editors of Health magazine put the city in third place behind New York and Minneapolis among places that make it easy for women to get fit. They considered natural resources such as parks, trails and shorelines, and looked at programs that reflect civic priority on fitness in preparing the report to be published in the March edition.

They found Honolulu a place where "almost everyone gets out and enjoys the lush life ... whether by walking, running, surfing, swimming, paddling or cycling," according to a release.

The recognition is great but it's deceptive, said Alicia Maluafiti, chairwoman of Kaho'omiki, the Hawaii State Physical Activity Council.

"Maybe professional women are getting in their 30 minutes of walking, those are the powerhouse women," she said. But because of the cost of living, "you have families where husband and wife both work two jobs. And in our culture, with extended families, the women are probably caregivers for the elderly. In the circumstances, women are going to put physical activity lower on their list of activity."

The council was not interviewed for the study, but the 1999 national award it got for advancing fitness and sports may have come into play. The Gold Star Award was given by the National Governors Council on Physical Activity and Sports.

"I don't think enough of our ladies are participating in daily physical activity," said Dennis X. Chai, associate professor of kinesiology and leisure science at the University of Hawaii. "I wonder what percentage of women were involved in their study. I haven't seen any studies about women exercising in Hawaii."

Chai said his concern is that the next generation of boys as well as girls are not forming the good habit of exercise that would carry through as adults. University studies have shown that more than 30 percent of Hawaii youngsters are overweight.

"Sadly, public school students aren't given time or encouraged to develop a regular pattern of physical activity," Chai said. He said physical education is not required except for one year in intermediate and one year in high school.