NPR celebrates Colorado as thinnest state -- but one that's getting fatter (AUDIO)

Ryan Van Duzer.

Because while our fair state is currently the leanest in the U.S., we're still packing on the pounds despite the shining example of fitness beasts like Boulder's Ryan Van Duzer.

Last time we spoke to Van Duzer, he was recounting a visit from the Boulder Police Department, which was unhappy about his role in an attempted revival of the Boulder Mall Crawl. But he's also a rabid bicyclist and all-around adventurer with his own personal web network, DuzerTV.com; see a sample in the clip below. No wonder KUNC reporter Kirk Siegler, who reported the latest episode, chose Van Duzer as an example of super-fit Coloradans. His piece is framed by a run in which Van Duzer leaves him in the dust while raising nary a sweat.

Not that Siegler portrays the rest of us as Men and Women of Steel. He also quotes the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment's Chris Lindley, who points out that while the state's 21 percent obesity rate is tops right now, this same number matches the worst percentage fifteen years ago. One reason he cites for this slippage is rising poverty, since the poor are more likely to rely on the sort of convenience food that thickens waistlines and strains belts.

Listen to the complete report below, followed by the aforementioned DuzerTV.com sampler.

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