The City That Shed a Million Pounds
Oklahoma City’s mayor made it his mission to take one of the country’s fattest cities and turn it into one of the fittest
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Five years ago, Oklahoma City was named one of the fattest cities in America. Today, it’s one of the fittest and looks to stay that way. Not only have residents lost tons of cumulative weight, they also joined forces with business interests to raise taxes to fund $917 million worth of public improvements aimed at advancing community health, fitness, and quality of life.
It all started when Mayor Mick Cornett realized he was obese. At 5-foot-9 and nearly 220 pounds, he figured if he needed to shed some excess baggage, others probably did, too. “We were just in denial, pretending that if we ignore obesity it’ll go away on its own,” he says.