Sitting picturesquely in the foothills of the hiking and skiing mecca of the Rocky Mountains, Boulder isn’t known as America’s fittest city for nothing.
Intimidatingly hale and hearty, it’s a place where bars and restaurants are dead by 9pm so locals can fit in an early morning ski or mountain-bike climb before work.
It sits at 5,430ft above sea level so endurance athletes from all over the world come to train here. Boulder’s social calendar is packed with a daunting series of strenuous events including an annual 10km road race that attracts 50,000 runners, a plunge into an iced-over lake and a ‘Tube To Work Day’ in which commuters hurtle down the rapids of a river clinging to car tyre inner tubes.
And then there’s the annual Halloween Dash, when residents run naked down the city’s main street in front of cheering crowds wearing nothing but a hollowed-out pumpkin on their head. Anywhere else the locals might be just a little self-conscious but not Boulder, where many people are only too happy to show […]
How wonderful. Fortunately, obesity does not contribute to healthcare costs. So employers don’t discriminate against anyone due to weight, that is illegal. But if I want to enjoy a cigar? Discriminate away…..
Actually obesity does contribute significantly to healthcare costs. Do some research.
I was being sarcastic. I work in healthcare. I know the data well. My point being that we privilege certain person habits, insulating them, and penalize others when both habits can cause personal harm. The real question is how far we want employers discriminating against personal habits we dislike.