How Oklahoma went from being one of the fattest US cities to one of the fittest
City's mayor was sick of seeing his city ranked as one of the fattest in the US - and decided to do something about it
ANY dieter knows that shifting just a few pounds can be gruelling, so imagine the effort of trying to lose a MILLION of them.
But that is exactly what the US city of Oklahoma has managed to do, thanks to its pioneering mayor Mick Cornett.
Tired of seeing his city regularly ranked as one of the fattest in America, he dreamed up perhaps the most ambitious ever New Year resolution.
On December 31, 2007, he stood in front of the city zoo’s elephant enclosure and set locals the gargantuan weight loss goal.
At 15st 7lb himself, Mick had realised he was classed as obese, so he cut his daily calorie count from 3,000 to 2,000, losing almost 3st as a result.
To his surprise, thousands of locals joined in too, tracking their weight- loss progress on a website he set up which also offered nutritional advice.
Local businesses set weight-loss competitions for their staff, churches set up running clubs and restaurants dreamed up low-calorie dishes named after the Mayor.
Over four years, 51,000 citizens between them helped to hit the million-pound target.
In Britain, the Wirral in Merseyside was recently shamed as the fat capital of Britain, where 58 per cent of women and 68 per cent of men have problems with their weight.
And last week, experts warned more than seven million cases of serious illness will be caused in the next 20 years because people are too fat.
Rising obesity is expected to cause a surge in early deaths from diabetes, cancer, strokes and heart disease.
In the face of such sobering statistics The Sun visited Oklahoma to learn how its people waged war on obesity.
Mayor Mick said: “As a politician your instinct is always to tell people what they want to hear. And no one likes to be told they need to diet.
No one likes to be told that they need to diet
“Obesity is a problem that is whispered about but not confronted for fear of upsetting people.
“In a sense this was a stunt but it got husbands and wives, bosses and employees talking about the issue.”
Former TV sports reporter Mick, 57, added: “Obesity puts a huge strain on the local economy, from employee absenteeism to healthcare costs to unemployment rates. We currently have one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country.
“People still come up to me in the street all the time and report how much weight they have lost. They seem to think I am personally keeping a note of it all somewhere.”
When the drive was launched, a third of Oklahomans were obese and almost 30 per cent did no physical activity. The city had one of the highest mortality rates in America and was known as the fast food capital, with more than 40 McDonald’s restaurants alone.
But controversially, instead of taking on the fast food chains, Mick recruited them to invest in his scheme.
Mexican restaurant chain Taco Bell put a life-size cut-out of him in every restaurant and introduced a bean burrito without sour cream or cheese.
He said: “What is the point of alienating these restaurants? Healthy living is about educating people to make healthy choices.”
Mick also took on Oklahoma’s car culture which had grown as a result of the city’s sprawling layout, which was radically redesigned, with locals asked for their ideas.
New developments include 100 miles of cycle tracks, more pavements allowing people to get around the city by foot, a tram network, a 70-acre park and a gymnasium for every school.
And perhaps the most impressive development, a world-class rowing and kayaking centre which locals share with the US Olympic team.
It was built on a seven-mile stretch of river which had once been an ugly drainage ditch running through the city, and last week a state-of-the-art river rapids course was added which will play host to everything from children’s birthday parties to the Olympic trials for Rio.
While Oklahoma still has a long way to go, both adult and childhood obesity rates have stabilised and in less than a decade it has moved from lists of the fattest cities to lists of the fittest.
Its rebirth comes after a series of devastating setbacks. In the 1980s a slump in the oil industry — one of the state’s major employers — caused 100 local banks to fail.
And in 1995 the Oklahoma City terrorist bombing of a government building killed 168 people. Mick said: “That was a unifying emotional event for Oklahoma’s people. Afterwards it was like they grabbed each other’s hands and pulled each other up.”
I was addicted to food, like an alcoholic to drink
Nobody knows this better than 49-year-old Amy Downs, who was working as a bank clerk in the building bombed by disgruntled Gulf War veteran Timothy McVeigh.
She said: “I was buried under a pile of rubble for six and a half hours. I began thinking about all the regrets I had. One was my weight.
“During my 20s I ballooned to 355lb (25st) through eating junk and doing nothing but sitting on the couch every evening after work, eating Cheetos. I made a deal with God that if I got out alive I would lose weight — and I did.”
Though it was 12 years later, Amy signed up for Mick’s weight-loss drive and initially shed 2st before a doctor advised surgery to shrink her stomach.
She said: “I was told the surgery wouldn’t be a magic bullet, that I would put the weight back on if I didn’t change my lifestyle.
“I started cycling and soon was doing it every evening after work.”
Eventually Amy lost more than 14st and for the past five years has competed in an annual half-marathon which honours victims of the bombing.
She said: “I try to eat salads, meat and veg and plan ahead.
“If I go to fast food restaurants I get something like grilled nuggets and a salad.
“It isn’t always easy, I was addicted to food, a bit like an alcoholic is to drink, so it is a battle that never leaves you. But I have so many friends I exercise with, and they won’t let me fall off the wagon.”
With the link between poverty and obesity in mind, three years ago local health chiefs moved their headquarters to Oklahoma’s poorest neighbourhood. The £10million centre includes parkland, basketball courts, allotments and cycling trails, all paid for jointly by the health department and private firms.
A clinic offers help with the medical effects of obesity while classes show how to cook for a family of four for as little as £3.50 a day.
Health chief Jackie Shawnee said: “People will change if you show you care. It is no use telling a single mother who can barely put food on the table for her kids just to eat more vegetables.
“You first need to see if she needs help getting a job and if she has a mattress — then the other part comes later.”
Four years ago Oklahoma child obesity expert Dr Ashley Weedn established a clinic treating some of the city’s most overweight kids.
She has found first-hand that dangerous weight gain can begin as early as two years old.
The story is similar in Britain, where it is estimated one in five children is obese by the time they leave primary school.
Dr Weedn said: “I treat four-year-olds with high blood pressure and cholesterol. There are children whose legs are bowing due to excess weight.
“About 40 per cent of parents who come in with their kids struggle to name more than a couple of vegetables.”
One of her patients, 14-year-old Irene Eckman, was approaching a UK Size 16 by the time she was nine and had to have her school uniform specially made.
With Dr Weedn’s help she has cut her BMI drastically and reversed health problems such as pre-diabetes.
She said: “My advice to British kids is change your mindset, break the cycle. Do it now, before you become an adult.”
'I had to pull my chest in just to breathe'
LINDA KEY weighed more than 25st when she joined an online dieting service in 2002.
As part of her weight-loss programme, she began writing down everything she ate to reduce her food intake.
The motto was: “If you bite it, you write it.”
The data analyst is now an avid cyclist and gym-goer who weighs 11st. She says:
"When I was lying in bed, I remember I used to have to pull my chest away from my neck just so I could breathe.
"I think part of the problem everywhere nowadays is that being overweight is becoming accepted and normal – people are being encouraged to love their bodies, whatever their weight.
"It sounds harsh but I don’t agree with that. People need to quit getting their feelings hurt and then start to become more healthy."
'Trails are now full of people cycling'
FATHER-of-four Tony Steward knows exactly how many Oklahomans are getting active – they come into his bike shop for their kit. He says:
"Since starting my business four years ago, cycling has really taken off as a sport here.
"I only started riding six years ago to lose weight. I reached 30 and realised I was over 17st.
"My neck looked like it was swallowing my head. I thought, ‘What am I doing? I have four kids’. I focused on eating foods without preservatives. Within two years I was 13st 2lb.
"I don’t think the Mayor’s Fitness Drive is perfect. I don’t agree with suggesting meals in fast-food restaurants which seems to me like sending an alcoholic to a bar.
"But the trails are crowded now with people jogging, walking and cycling so that has to be a good thing."
'I ate up to 10,000 calories every day'
BUSINESS analyst William Bredemeyer was 25st when he joined an office weight-loss contest during the mayor’s fitness drive.
He lost 8st 5lb and won the challenge. Single William says:
"As a kid I had been fat, then I worked in this very sedentary job.
"I would eat a huge breakfast of eggs, bacon and hash browns.
"For lunch I would have enchiladas and a similar dinner. I was eating 8,000 to 10,000 calories a day. When I started the challenge, I gave up pizza, started walking, cycling and running and eating vegetables.
"I didn’t exclude anything from my diet but aimed to eat between 1,800 and 2,000 calories a day.
"Before I started I was probably pre-diabetic but now I am fine.
Oklahoma did not really have a tradition of exercise. But it is now changing."