The United States may be the obesity capital of the world, but New Yorkers have to be different, as Mark Sage reports.

Visitors to New York often ask the same question while they wander the streets soaking up the tourist attractions - where are all the fat people? Most people arriving in this part of the United States expect gigantic meal portions, wolfed down by humongous people.

And it is true that America is the most obese nation on earth, raised on a diet of too much sugar and too little exercise. But in New York - especially for those who live amongst the skyscrapers of Manhattan - it's different.

Another thing visitors to New York notice is how many people seem to be exercising. All the time. Every weekend Central Park is packed with streams of runners. You'd be forgiven for thinking there was a fun-run going on. When the weather is particularly good, some of the park's paths and roads actually get jammed with all the jogger traffic. Then there are the roller-bladers, the power walkers, kids playing baseball.

Despite Manhattanites' love of dining out, or ordering 'take-out' they certainly know how to keep the pounds off. A study this week found that people who live in the centre of New York are the skinniest in the country. Just 34 per cent of white Manhattan residents are overweight, compared to 64 per cent of all Americans. A mere seven per cent of Manhattanites are considered obese. Some four per cent are actually too skinny, according to the study by Crain's New York Business.

And while the obesity rate doubles in the outer boroughs like Queens and Brooklyn, which surround the centre of the city, it is still well below the national average of 21 per cent.

Some observers believe that Manhattanites stay in shape because they work so hard and walk from place to place a great deal. But it's more than that. The residents of Manhattan know they are living with the beautiful people and want to keep up.

Most people living in Manhattan have the luxury of money, affording them gym memberships, quality education and good health care and advice. That, combined with the relentless 'can-do' attitude held by so many people in the city, means often folks will run before their 12-hour working day starts, or head to the gym after it. As Tom Wolfe, best-selling author of The Bonfire Of The Vanities, commented: ''Staying thin is a sign you're hip and on top of things.''

NEW York's legendary Times Square turned 100 this month. The 'Crossroads of the World' as it has been called, has seen some sweeping changes since it was named in honour of the newly opened New York Times building in 1904.

Within a few years bars, restaurants and theatres came to dominate the area, frequented by the well off. But in 1920 alcohol prohibition killed off the vibrancy of the district. By the 1960s the place had taken a dive. The promise of a gleaming urban centre seemed lost as drug dealers, pimps and prostitutes moved in and the old theatres became sex shops and peep shows. The Crossroads of the World became known as the devil's playground.

So by the 1990s there was a determination to clean up Times Square - which despite its name isn't actually a square, it's more of a triangle. Today, a visit to see the pulsating, hypnotising neon lights of Times Square by night is as much on the tourists' agenda as the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building.

l Harry Mead is away

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