Resolving To Trim Down In 2018 Depends On Where You Live

HOUSTON, TX — The clock is ticking on making your New Year’s resolutions, if you actually do engage on such things.

But if you are one of those people who resolve each year to lose a few pounds, whether or not you can actually keep the pounds off may depend on where you live.

Most of us who’ve have endured an expansive waistline over our lives, will typically look toward the New Year and a chance at a clean slate of healthy living, exercise and food choices.

But if you’ve made the choice to get fit, but you live in a neighborhood without sidewalks, or there are no parks or fitness centers nearby, and you are seemingly surrounded by fast food locations, then your chances of success are not so good.

Our friends at WalletHub.com have compiled a list of places that could enable or sabotage your efforts at a healthy lifestyle in 2018.

Only two Texas cities made the top 20 list of places that promote healthy living, with Austin topping out at No. 9 followed by Plano at No. 11.

The Top 10 Cities for Healthy Living include:

• Seattle, WA
• San Francisco, CA
• San Diego, CA
• Scottsdale, AZ
• Salt Lake City UT
• San Jose, CA
• Orlando, FL
• Irvine, CA
• Austin, TX
• Portland, OR

While Austin and Plano scored high, other Texas cities tumbled far down the list of healthy places.

Houston was third on the list of Texas cities, at No. 35, followed by San Antonio at No. 44, and Dallas at No. 46.

Neighboring Ft. Worth came in at No. 60 and El Paso was listed at No. 88.

The worst Texas city on the list of healthy places was Laredo, which came in at No. 163 out of a possible 182 cities surveyed.

The factors that led to these ratings included criteria for the number of obese adults in the population and areas where people do not exercise — Laredo scored high in each category.

Other criteria include high income areas, which included Plano, and low unemployment rates in which Austin tied at the top with five other locations.

Click this link here to see if your community was rated in this survey.

Image: This Oct. 28, 2015 photo shows sneakers, headphones, house keys and a cellphone displaying the Couch to 5K app - all the gear a jogger needs to head out for a run. The Couch to 5K app offers gentle guidance for novice runners looking to go from being a couch potato to being able to run 5 kilometers. (AP Photo/Beth J. Harpaz)

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