City is going on a Diet

[metro]

And here's an article from Yahoo News:

Oklahoma City mayor puts city on a diet - Yahoo! News

[jbrown84]

Same AP article...

[bombermwc]

Cornett was also on NPR on the show "What Do You Know" this last Saturday. They interviewed him about OKC going on a diet. The host, Michael Feldman, mentioned that Madison, WI (where the show is based) is currently the fattest...in at least whatever poll he saw. When I listened to it, I got the impression that the audience was impressed that there was such an initiative.

Feldman made a funny joke though...talked about buying "thin credits" from places like Denver...lol.

[CCOKC]

That must have been at the beginning of the show. I totally missed that.
I heard on the local npr station this morning that mayor Mick is going to be on the Ellen show ( I forgot which day).

[Karried]

mayor Mick is going to be on the Ellen show ( I forgot which day).

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

[metro]

Karried, no offense but why are you so negative on this? I've seen nothing but very positive press for OKC and all the national channels I've seen are very supportive and have had great things to say about OKC. The worst I've heard from is you, no offense again.

[Karried]

Oh I don't know.. maybe because it brings national attention to the fact that our mayor thinks we're all so fat and stupid that he needs to direct us and put us (the entire city) on a 'diet'..... like we couldn't figure that out our ourselves. It's offensive and insulting.

I'm sorry if it bothers you Metro, no offense.

Most people will never come here, all they see and know is from national media.

I personally am tired of the negative image, the stereotypes, the stupid jokes, the horrible comments about OK and this doesn't help one bit.

You can spin it into a positive if that works for you.... but if I saw a mayor from any other city on Ellen talking about how obese his city is and how we're all losing a million pounds, the image that comes to mind isn't the image I want our state to have.

That's my opinion and the way I feel about it.

[Karried]

One other thing.. the idea isn't so repulsive to me... the Mayor attempting to help the citizens in their attempts to lead a healthier lifestyle.

It's the way it was presented and framed...

'Mayor of OKC Puts Entire City on a Diet !!

"We Need to Lose a Million Pounds"

ugh - It makes me so crazy.

[metro]

Thanks for your side of things. All the national shows I've seen talk about how obese their own cities are and it's a great idea and should be implemented nationwide and how progressive we are on getting on top of this epidemic. It's really a nationwide problem. Heck, even the Seattle media spun it off good (and they've been negative towards us for the Sonics issue).

[ouguy23]

I too have only seen good press from this and do not see a negative to this at all. I think that it is good the mayor is being proactive about a major health problem as opposed to skirting the issue. I commend the mayor for actually trying to get his city healthy.

[Karried]

Tue January 15, 2008
Mayor taking diet to 'Ellen'

By Bryan Dean
Staff Writer
Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett's call for city residents to go on a diet has been heard from China to England.

Since he announced a weight loss Web site Dec. 31, national media have been calling nonstop. Cornett is scheduled to appear on the "Ellen” show Thursday. Dr. Phil has shown interest, too.


The story has made CNN, Fox News and the parody newspaper The Onion.

Cornett did radio interviews with Voice of America in China and the BBC. He also gave an interview for National Public Radio's "Whad'Ya Know?”

While Cornett expected the program would make local television and newspaper headlines, he had no idea it would gain so much international attention.

Cornett said he's also been pleased that the reaction has been generally positive.
"The risk was that it was drawing attention to something that could be a negative,” Cornett said. "We're proactively doing something about it. It's taking a health issue and putting a positive spotlight on it.”

The ultimate goal, he said, is to get the city off of various lists of the fattest communities in the country.

City spokeswoman Kristy Yager said calls have come in from numerous talk show hosts and radio stations. A story by The Associated Press ran in newspapers across the country.

"I did not expect this at all,” Yager said. "When we found out it was on the front page of a newspaper in Brainerd, Minn., that was a bit surprising.”

Supporting each other
The Web site encourages city residents to sign up and track their weight loss. It has diet, nutrition and exercise tips, a schedule of 5-kilometer races and other exercise opportunities and a running tally of the weight those registered on the site have lost.


As of Monday afternoon, about 8,600 people had signed up and more than 6,000 pounds were lost. Cornett has challenged the city to lose 1 million pounds, though he said he doubts the tally on the Web site will ever reach that mark.

"A lot of attention goes toward the million pounds,” Cornett said. "But it's not the distance I'm worried about, it's the direction. I want to create a culture that thinks more about health.”
Cornett's hope is that people will see the site as a way to support each other and lose weight together, a community experience rather than an individual struggle.

He has been honest about his own weight loss struggles in his various media interviews. "We're doing this together, thousands of people,” Cornett said.

[jbrown84]

Karrie, I saw what I believe was your comment on newsok.

I still believe that this puts OKC in a positive light, showing that we have a progressive leadership that's doing creative things to try to combat prevalent health issues in our city.

It's not that Mick is "putting us on a diet" in the sense that he's playing the scolding doctor and we're the patient. It's just a matter of saying, hey let's all try to lose weight, and lets keep track of it on a website to promote it big that we need to be healthier.

[eataroundokc.com]

For what it's worth, I think this is a great promotion. If it helps even just a few people to embrace a more healthy lifestyle, it would be worth it. At best, I think it could really help to influence our city's mindset.

[Karried]

Okay, I will concede that Mick Cornett did a wonderful job in how he presented the idea on Ellen today.

I love the fact that he mentioned that yes we are on the Most Obese Cities List but that we are also on other lists like the Best Place to Start a New Business etc etc.

I loved that he kept saying that a lot of cities in our region are also on the list.

I like the Mayor, have loved what he has done in promoting the NBA here and what he done to bring positive recognition to OKC.

The way he discussed the plan on Ellen makes more sense that how the media first portrayed it.



I think I got distracted by the original terminology.. Mayor Puts City on a Diet.

So, yes, I am coming around a little bit and trying not to be so negative about the idea.

[shane453]

And, the audience really thought it was funny when he said the website title, "Thiscityisgoingonadiet.com". He did a great job- don't know how you could lose confidence Karried... You knew he was going to use any and every national exposure opportunity to share positive aspects of OKC, like mentioning the new 300 miles of sidewalk and 47 new inner city gymnasiums etc etc

[Karried]

Yes, good point, I forgot to mention that he brought up the sidewalks... ha,ha, my day would be made if he mentioned the NBA ( just in a round about way, sneak it in - plant the seed, lol)

And he gave Ellen her own day in honor of her birthday... I love Ellen so that was really cool.

I was worried that she would really poke fun at the concept and bring it home that we are one of the heaviest cities but she didn't and was very complimentary.

Okay, off to Jimmy's Eggs for Biscuits and Gravy.

j/k

[soonerguru]

Good for mayor Cornett. I didn't vote for him but I really like the fact that he's so telegenically polished. I can't imagine Tolbert on "Ellen!"

[CuatrodeMayo]

The comments on NewsOK are hilarious. I can't believe we have that many ignorant people in OKC who know how to use the internet and type.

[soonerguru]

he comments on NewsOK are hilarious. I can't believe we have that many ignorant people in OKC who know how to use the internet and type.

I think that is a great indicator of the collective readership of the Oklahoman. What a bunch of buffoons.

[Karried]

I can't believe how quickly the focus turned to gay bashing because he gave Ellen a day in our city!

Sheesh, the ignorance never ends.

The anonymity of the internet can be a very evil thing. People say things (or write) things they never would dream of saying to someone's face. They take on personas, personalities, other characters, other names.... no one knows for sure who anyone really is.

Well, that's another topic I guess.

[jbrown84]

I was surprised Mick would do that considering she's gay, but I'm glad he did. People can get over it.

[CuatrodeMayo]

Anybody see the Hank Hill from Arlen comments?

[kmf563]

I applaud our mayor for taking action, but I too see where Karried is coming from. I would much prefer a city effort on getting healthy than being put on a diet.

I don't see why he wouldn't set up some kind of promotions agreement with a local gym already in existence. All American is always trying to do something to be active within the community. I'm sure they would have agreed to something like 3 free months for anyone who signs up for this city campaign with some sort of discount with a year commitment. Anything to make it cheap to get people going would have worked. I certainly don't need a diet but would be all for a large community effort on being healthy.

Has anyone looked at our state ranking with obesity and compared it to other states in the realm of health insurance and benefits?? I think that route would be interesting to see. A lot of larger companies in other states have built in health facilities on location as well as paid benefits to join spas and/or organizations for health. The only one here I know of is Chesapeake. My job says that sidewalks are free to walk on for exercise.