Perhaps no place in the United States is more health-conscious than Southern California, where endlessly good weather and sunshine long ago gave the cult of the body an extraordinary foothold. Health food stores, yogurt emporia and holistic medicine have flourished for years, as have surfing, skateboarding, roller-skating and all manner of outdoor activities. When the climate is practically perfect, exercise comes naturally, and even the steady incursions of a sprawling metropolis have not stopped Angelenos from getting outdoors and working hard at looking and feeling good.
Tans are ubiquitous, as are tank tops and bare midriffs.
Salads with local ingredients abound on every menu and egg-white omelets are available on demand. Getting around is easier with the newly completed 17.4-mile subway. The trains are clean and the stations spectacularly decorated. THE BUZZ Even natives love to deride Los Angeles as a city without a downtown. Or more accurately as a city with several, from City Hall to the office towers and mall of Century City, to the beach at Santa Monica 15 miles away.