By Jeremy Walsh
Queens residents are fatter than the citywide average, a new study issued by U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) found, but that was only because Manhattan residents are so scrawny.
Some 57.6 percent — 990,809 — of Queens residents were overweight or obese compared with 55 percent citywide, the study found. The borough was actually the second-thinnest in the city, trailing only Manhattan, where 42.3 percent of people were overweight or obese. The fattest borough was the Bronx with 62.7 percent. Brooklyn was next with 58.7, and Staten Island followed with 57.7 percent. The nationwide average is 66 percent, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control.
But by sheer numbers, Queens’ overweight population was second only to Brooklyn’s 1 million. The overweight in the Bronx comprised 586,419, Manhattan had 541,135 and Staten Island had a mere 190,681 overweight or obese people.
The city as a whole still did better all the rest of New York except Long Island, where a mere 54 percent of people were ranked too pudgy for their own good.
The numbers were based on U.S. Census figures. The most recent census was taken in 2000.
Gillibrand issued the report as she announced a new plan to ban trans fats in schools and provide healthier school lunches.
“We can’t afford to let our children grow up in a culture of obesity,” she said. “If our children are going to have the opportunity to reach their potential, they need a healthy start.”
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, obesity has doubled among American children ages 6 to 11 over the last 30 years, going from 6.5 percent to 17 percent. During the same period of time, obesity among teens 12 to 19 has more than tripled, from 5 percent to nearly 18 percent.
Reach reporter Jeremy Walsh by e-mail at jewalsh@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 154.
