That's Fit

According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), if you live in Austin TX or Boston MA you might want to think twice before going out to eat.

CSPI has ranked 20 US cities from best to worst using criteria from the city's food inspectors. The ranking considers "how often city inspectors found five major health hazards and five less critical concerns in 30 high-end, medium-range, and fast-food eateries in each city." Hand washing, maintaining food at a proper temperature, and improper cooking are some of the major health hazards. Minor infractions include poor employee cleanliness and hygiene, rodent and/or insect infestation, presence of sick restaurant workers, and contact of bare hands with food.

The CSPI encourages cities to adopt a restaurant grading program similar to a program in LA County where restaurants have to post what health inspection grade they received -- A, B, or C. (Lower grades would result in temporary or permanent closure).

Keep reading to see the CSPI's "Dirty Dining" list from worst to best.

The American College of Sports Medicine has tallied the statistics to rank 15 of America's largest metropolitan cities. Which cities were deemed the fittest? Which fell at the bottom, and why?

The goal of the fitness index is to give a quick glimpse of the health status of America's metropolitan areas. Ultimately the ACSM hopes to help cities achieve a higher level of physical activity and healthy eating habits. The reports about each city include strategies for improvement. The top five cities were:

• San Francisco, CA
• Seattle, WA
• Boston, MA
• Washington D.C.
• Atlanta, GA

Using factors such as stress levels, cardiovascular mortality, high blood pressure, smoking, and the number of people who commute by foot/bike instead of car, the American Heart Association ranked the best cities/metropolitan areas for women's heart health. Did your city make the list?

• Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Minnesota
• Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, District of Columbia
• Denver-Aurora, Colorado
• Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Massachusetts
• Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Washington
• Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, Oregon
• San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, California
• Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, California
• Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Arizona.
  
  

Nashville, St. Louis, and Detroit metropolitan areas were ranked as the three most unhealthy cities for women. Want to see more? Read Chris' post about the 20 healthiest US cities.

I'm convinced cough medicine for kids doesn't work. Whenever my boys suffer with nagging coughs -- the kind that keeps them up at night because they just can't stop hacking -- and I pump them full of any brand of children's cough syrup, it doesn't make a lick of difference. They still hack.

I don't use cough medicine anymore. But apparently, many parents do.

New reports indicate that 10 percent of U.S. kids are dosed with cough medicine every week. Every week? Yep, that's right. About one is ten kids uses one or more cough medicines during a given week, says research from Boston University. Kids ages two to five use the medications most often. But the rate is also high among those under age two. This is scary stuff, especially in light of evidence that proves cough and cold medication use can lead to serious adverse effects, including death.

As scary as it may be, there is a silver lining: The overall use of such medicines declined from 12.3 percent in 1999-2000 to 8.4 percent in 2005-2006.

Using statistics from such organizations as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Zagat Survey, the magazine Cooking Light ranked the most healthy major metropolitan areas in the U.S.

Some of the cities to appear on the list may be expected, while others may be a bit surprising. Either way, if living healthy is your goal, a good start may be taking up residence in any one of these health-conscious locales.

After reading through the list, you can then check out an explanation for why these cities made the list by clicking here.

1. Seattle

2. Portland, OR

3. Washington D.C.

4. Minneapolis

5. San Francisco

6. Boston

7. Denver

8. Milwaukee

9. Philadelphia

Living in the big city, it's sometimes hard to get really fresh fruit and veggies. However, you can't throw a stone without hitting a McDonald's or Burger King. They're everywhere, and in most cases, it's cheaper to get a greasy cheeseburger than it is to get a fresh salad made of local produce. There are always farmer's markets, but I find them to be quite expensive. It's one of the unfortunate realities of our industrialized world.

A farm just outside of Boston is trying to change that though by offering freshly-picked fruits and veggies that are competitively priced and in a convenient location. What's more, the farm employs about 60 inner-city youth, which helps the teenagers of Boston learn about healthy eating and sustainable community.

I think this is a great idea and one that I hope catches on throughout North America. What do you think?

We often talk about the latest health research here on That's Fit, but did you ever wonder who all those researchers are doing their testing on? Studies on human health often need young, healthy adults and what better place to find them than a college campus? Students at Boston University can help fund their "extracurricular activities" by participating in studies at one of the many research hospitals in the greater Boston area. Students can earn anywhere from a few dollars to thousands depending on the extent of their participation.

My college campus wasn't anywhere near a research hospital, but I probably would have jumped at the chance to make some extra cash this way -- at least for the smaller and simpler studies that didn't involve sleep deprivation or drawing any blood! What about you?

So maybe the thought of joining a regular old spinning or Pilates class at the gym just doesn't trip your trigger. Maybe you're looking for something more interesting and different than that? Well then maybe, if you're lucky, one of these unique classes are located near you:

• In the Los Angeles area at the Crunch gym try the Rocket Workout. You'll get to use a new machine that is rapidly catching on in gyms all over called the Orbital 360, and the workout includes everything from strength training to stretching to Pilates.
• In Boston at Healthworks try the class called Burn. You'll alternate between walking and running on and off a treadmill for up to 50 minutes. Feel the burn!
  
• The Miami David Barton Gym has a class called Barton Biking where you'll alternate between biking and arm strengthening moves to burn over 500 calories in an hour.
• Chicago's Equinox is home to Chaos, where you'll get to do intervals of strength training and cardio, but with an element of make-believe mixed in.
• And finally, at the New York Health and Racquet Club in New York City you can opt for the Bin Zhou class where you'll meditate and do tai chi, qi gong, and isometrics.

We first heard about her plans earlier this month, and now Sunita Williams has done it! She successfully ran the Boston Marathon in space yesterday, finishing the 26.2 miles in 4 hours 23 minutes and 46 seconds (or the equivalent of 6,300th place of 7,600 contenders).

This story really takes fitness and determination to a whole new level! I think for most of us who commonly use reasons like "I'm tired" and "I'm too busy," the excuse "I'll be in outer space" is a legitimate one. If not being on the planet isn't a good enough reason to skip a workout, then what is?

I'm with Bethany on this one, after hearing this story pretty much all excuses sound totally lame!

Good for you Sunita, way to go.