Claire Kowalick, Wichita Falls Times Record News Published 2:16 p.m. CT Dec. 12, 2019
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Less access to workout facilities and easier access to fast-food restaurants were found in a recent study, to correlate with higher obesity rates in the United States.
FitRated looked at data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as the 2019 U.S. Health Club Database from U.S. Business Data to find the number of gyms and fast-food restaurants in each state and determine the impact on exercise, obesity and rates of depression.
Texas unfortunately stood out in the study as having the third fewest gyms per capita at just 5.5 gyms per 100,000 people.
What the state lacks in gyms, it seems to make up for with fast-food restaurants with the fourth highest amount of these eateries at 7.8 restaurants for every one gym in the state.
Texas has a below average self-reported rate of exercise at just under 68 percent and an above average obesity rate with 33 percent of Texans being obese.
Researchers found the heaviest concentration of gyms and workout facilities in the Northeast and Upper Midwest parts of the country.
Vermont had the most gyms per person with 23 per 100,000 residents. Washington D.C., Massachusetts and Rhode Island also ranked among the highest concentrations of gyms per capita.
The South and Southwest regions showed the lowest concentrations of gyms per capita bottoming out with Arkansas (four gyms per 100,000 people), Arizona (five), Texas (six) and Hawaii (six).
Physical activity has been linked to better weight management, improved health outcomes and lower rates of depression.
What people eat also plays an important role in health.
Diets high in processed food can lead to diabetes, cancer, stroke, heart problems, and mental health issues.
The information on concentrations of fast-food restaurants was compiled by Datafiniti.
Southern states showed higher concentrations of fast-food restaurants compared to gyms. The highest was in Arkansas with 11 fast-food restaurants for every gym in the state. High averages were also found in Arizona, Alabama, Texas, Oklahoma and West Virginia.
Vermont ranked the lowest with less than one fast-food restaurant for every gym. Rhode Island, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, and New Hampshire all averaged less than two fast-food restaurants for every established workout facility.
According to CDC research, people who were living in areas with more gyms and fewer fast-food restaurants were more likely to have exercised at least once in the past month.
In Vermont, 79 percent of people reported exercising recently compared to the low in Arkansas with less than 68 percent of residents reporting that they had exercised in the last month.
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In Western states, access to outdoor exercise options such as hiking and snow sports seem to have made up for the relatively low number of gyms per capita. In Washington state, Colorado, California and Utah, the number of gyms was below national average, but 78-80 percent of residents reported that they have worked out recently.
Perhaps even more compelling than the lower levels of obesity in regions where there were a higher number of gyms per capita (including Washington, D.C., Massachusetts, Montana, and Vermont), we found an extreme correlation between the number of fast-food restaurants and obesity in America.
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The study also noted the link between low physical activity and higher rates of depression.
There were on average 1.2 gyms in the U.S. for every 10,000 residents and about 20 percent of Americans are classified as depressed.
Many states that had fewer gyms per capita also had higher rates of depression including West Virginia, Arkansas and Kentucky. The correlation did not hold true for Texas which has 0.5 gyms per 10,000 people but only 16.7 percent of people classified as depressed.
With only a few outliers, the analysis also shows a strong link in overall education and highest number of gyms per capita.
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Vermont, Massachusetts, Minnesota and New Hampshire are some of the most-educated and also have the highest number of gyms per capita.
On the other hand, states like Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas and Oklahoma sport both low number of gyms per capita and low educational ranking.
A good balance of regular exercise and consumption of healthy food seem to be a winning combination for mental and physical health.
Fitrated also used information from the CDC BRFSS Prevalence and Trends tool and educational rankings were from a 2019 WalletHub study.
See the full study results at: https://www.fitrated.com/resources/gym-by-state/.
Claire Kowalick, a senior journalist for the Times Record News, covers local government, military and MSU Texas. If you have a news tip, contact Claire at ckowalick@gannett.com.
Twitter: @KowalickNews
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