Interesting article - and lends credence to the theory that successful fat loss efforts rely on surrounding yourself with others who support you and live a healthy lifestyle.  Granted you don't have to live in the healthiest city in the U.S. to be successful, but it sure would not hurt

What's the healthiest city in America? It appears to be Burlington, Vt.

Vermont's largest city is tops among U.S. metropolitan areas by having the largest proportion of people — 92 percent — who say they are in good or great health.

It's also among the best in exercise and among the lowest in obesity, diabetes and other measures of ill health, according to a recent report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

This New England city of 40,000, on the shores of Lake Champlain, is in some ways similar to the unhealthiest city — Huntington, W.Va. Both are out-of-the-way college towns with populations that are overwhelmingly white people of English, German or Irish ancestry.

But there the similarities end:

• Burlington is younger, with an average age of 37, compared to 40 in Huntington, according to the Census Bureau.
• Burlington is better off financially, with 8 percent living at the federal poverty level, compared to 19 percent in Huntington.
• It's much more educated, with nearly 40 percent of area residents having at least a college bachelor's degree. Only 15 percent in the Huntington area do.

The cultures are significantly different, too. Bicycling, hiking, skiing and other exercises are common in Burlington. Neighborhood groups commonly focus on improving parks, working in community gardens and repairing and improving sidewalks.

"There's this norm of a lot of activity," said Chris Finley, Vermont's deputy health commissioner, who works in Burlington.

And though college staples like pizza are common, healthier foods are also popular. Grass-fed beef is offered in finer restaurants, vegan options are plentiful, and the lone downtown supermarket is run by a co-op successful in selling bulk rice and other healthy choices to low-income residents.

Burlington is helped by the presence of IBM and other employers offering more generous health benefits and corporate wellness programs than companies in Huntington, some experts suggested.

According to researchers at the University of California at San Diego and Harvard, if your friends or family are overweight, there is an increased chance you are (or will be) overweight as well. A 32-year study tracked the weight records of more than 12,000 people, and found that the chances of becoming obese went up if a friend, sibling or spouse also gained too much weight - an increased risk of 57 percent, 40 percent and 37 percent, respectively. Researchers concluded that the participants were influenced by similar attitudes, behaviors and acceptance of obesity - in other words, you may not feel so bad about being fat if your best friends and closest relatives are fat. The researchers suggested that their findings may have implications for how to better deal with obesity - rather than treating individuals, it might be more useful to treat groups of friends and relatives together.

Besides burning calories, exercise helps your brain stick to a diet.  Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh studies overweight adults for two years, and found that the participants who didn't follow a 3-hour-per-week exercise plan ate more than the 1,500 calories per day the study allotted.  The reverse was also true - sneaking in extra snacks sabotaged their workouts.  You need diet AND exercise to maintain long-term weight loss.  Both actions serve as reminders to stay the course, reinforcing your fat loss goals and drive.