This is a good news-bad news story.

The bad news is, in July 2025 the consumer finance site WalletHub, which tracks personal spending, including the cost of health insurance as a percentage of monthly household income, ranked Little Rock as "the most overweight and obese city in the U.S." Physical inactivity contributes to the problem.

To be fair to our fair city, obesity and inactivity are not unique to Little Rock, nor to Arkansas. And studies do vary. However, the consistent overall national rankings are disheartening.

The good news is Little Rock's potential. In fact, as echoed by the Greater Little Rock Chamber of Commerce, Little Rock received in 2013 the Editor's Choice award from Outside Magazine as a great U.S. city for a healthy lifestyle. But that was over a dozen years ago. Do the lifestyle assets for which we were recognized still exist?

Yes. From cultural, natural, and logistical to medical, corporate, financial, and industrial. And here's the big idea: The........

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