Liverpool 'tops fat league'

Feb 12 2007 By Vicky Anderson

LIVERPOOL has been named the country’s unhealthiest city.

The dubious honour came as researchers analysed the lifestyle habits of men up and down the country.

Liverpool has been a regular fixture in the top five of the annual poll from Men’s Fitness Magazine in recent years.

However, this is the first time it has topped the poll.

Results were based on a number of factors including the incidence of heart disease, diet, alcohol consumption and gym membership in an area.

Liverpool scored poorly in every category.

Now researchers are warning that as a result hundreds of men in the city will succumb to heart disease.

Northern cities fared badly overall, as Manchester was named as the second least healthy city, with Bradford, which topped the list last year, third.

London and Southampton were named the healthiest cities.

There have been a number of initiatives put in place by Liverpool City Council in recent months to get the city fitter, including putting gym equipment in libraries, launching healthy eating website www.tasteforhealth.com, and using branded “lifestyle taxis” to promote health and fitness initiatives.

The council says that nearly 50,000 people a week are now visiting the city’s gyms, swimming pools and fitness centres, 2,500 more than this time last year.

Head of sport and recreation services, Chris Briggs, said: “We’ve invested more than £40 million in our leisure facilities over the last decade and it is our mission to make sure everyone in Liverpool is making the most of them.

“Our gyms are at the forefront of providing the best possible health and fitness facilities for people of all ages to counter heart disease, cancer and obesity in Liverpool.”

Council leader Warren Bradley said: “We all want to be fit and healthy but it’s very easy to get into bad habits and not so easy to motivate ourselves.

“So it’s really important that we all receive constant reminders about the benefits of taking regular exercise and keeping active.”