Yahoo Finance The West Coast is home to some of the healthiest cities in America.
According to a study from WalletHub, San Francisco is the healthiest city in the U.S., followed by Seattle, San Diego, Portland, and Washington, D.C.
WalletHub calculated the data by comparing 174 cities across four weighted dimensions: health care, food, fitness, and green space.
One of the factors was the lowest premature death rate. Nearly all of the top cities are located in California, much like the percentage of adults eating enough fruits/vegetables per day.
The West Coast also has the highest percentage of physically active adults. This may be why San Francisco took the top spot — it has the most walking trails per capita and the most running trails per capita.
The South contains most unhealthy cities
Meanwhile, the unhealthiest cities in the U.S. are overwhelmingly found in the South. Brownsville, Texas, is the least healthy spot in the nation and two other Texas cities made the list, along with two in Alabama, two in Georgia, and two in Mississippi.
“Those states in particular have high [obesity] rates, and I’m sure their physical activity is rather low,” Dr. Charles Platkin, the director of the Hunter College NYC Food Policy Center and editor of DietDetective.com, told Yahoo Finance.
“It’s cultural … around food and eating. Probably a more relaxed atmosphere, more rural in some of the urban centers. Hence the high levels of walkability or concerns about healthy eating or concerns about lifestyle. Whereas in those states, they have higher levels of blue collar workers.”
