Southern hospitality gone amok
A new Center for Disease Control survey on obesity in the US says that the American South—long the home of high fat, high volume eating—wins the dubious prize of fattest in the land.
The South weighs in at 29.5 percent obese, followed up by the Midwest (29.0), the Northeast (25.3) and the West at 24.3 percent.
A 2009 report by Time Magazine refuted the claim that the South’s king fatness status was due to cuisine and eating traditions but rather cited the lack of outdoor exercise facilities, poor sidewalks for walking, weak public transportation infrastructure and low income as reasons for topping the charts as fattest in the land.
While all Americans get fatter (survey says more than 35 percent of Americans are obese), the hospitality industry works to address health and fitness issues with programs like Hilton’s new low calorie breakfast options and Sofitel’s new De-light menu (not available yet at any location below the Mason-Dixon line).
InterContinental’s EVEN health concept hotels, (whose trademark phrase is ‘Well come’) opening next year, address the issue by offering guests a health-centric experience from check-in to check out. No word yet on whether the chain will open in Atlanta, Memphis, Biloxi or New Orleans. Industry insiders say the first properties will be in New York, Chicago and San Francisco.
HOTELIERS HAVE YOUR SAY:
Are you a Southern hotel, inn or bed and breakfast with an innovative approach to hospitality, good food and health? Share your comments below on how you’re making Southern hospitality healthy.
Gretchen Kelly
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