Healthy Lifestyles in Oregon
Oregon is popular for many reasons such as coffee, beautiful scenery, fresh salmon and of course Tillamook cheese! However, lately Oregon has taken center stage for promoting healthy lifestyles. Portland was ranked #2 in 2006 by Self Magazine on their “Top 10 healthiest cities for women” article. In 2004 Portland was nick named “Bike Town U.S.A.” by Bike Town Magazine and it was also ranked #3 for healthiest city for pets by showcatsonline.com in 2003. Across the board, Oregon is setting a national standard for healthy living and exercise.
Passing the “bike bill″ in 1971 put Oregon as the first state which took the first step toward healthy living. By 2001 3.8% of people were biking to work at least three days per week to according to Oregon.gov. Other fitness activities have also increased over the years. The Nike Hood to Coast Relay Marathon is the largest relay race in North America. It began in 1982 with eight teams. By 1999 it reached capacity of 1,000 teams. If biking or running is not really your cup of tea, there are plenty of hiking trails, gyms and countless dog parks where all activity levels are welcome.
In Salem alone there are five Weight Watcher sites, a Jenny Craig and a LA Weight loss center all centrally located, not to mention all the other private organizations such as Salem Weight Management Center. If you do not want to count points, buy special food or be on a liquid diet there are plenty of healthy options at grocery stores and Salem’s exclusive health foods store, Life Source. As recently as ten years ago, many of Salem’s grocery stores did not carry foods such as soy milk, tofu or whole wheat products without a high price tag. Now, places like Fred Meyer often have sales on these products and offer a wide range of health foods and Trans fat free products.
National chains such as Applebee’s and Red Robin are offering alternatives for dieters and health nuts a like. Applebee’s was one of the firsts to offer Weight Watcher menu items and Red Robin offers meat substitutes for all their burgers. Often those who are trying to be healthier avoid eating out because typically there are few healthy choices besides a salad on menus. Let’s face it salad is boring when steak and potato are on the menu. But now with these new special menus, dieters can feel confident eating out instead of feeling committed to another boring salad.
If a healthy lifestyle is something you desire but don’t think you can do on your own, help is on every corner, literally. In Salem alone there are five Weight Watcher sites, a Jenny Craig and a LA Weight loss center all within a five mile radius. This is not including all the private organizations such as Salem Weight Management Center. All of these companies have one thing in common, they all want to build a better, healthier, and happier you.
Being outside and having healthy foods at the tips of your fingers is not something every state can brag about, the elite states such as Oregon can claim to be a “health nut″ state. Oregon’s healthy lifestyle trend is not likely to change anytime soon. Get out and enjoy the bragging rights, every healthy Oregonian has earned them!
Tags: Fitness
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