Last week, the Centers for Disease Control released its list of the healthiest cities in the US. Using gender-specific stats, Self magazine has created its own list of the healthiest and unhealthiest cities for women. The magazine uses almost 8,000 bits of data in 50 categories to create its ranking system. Some of the criteria are public health stats like death and disease rates, but it also measures elements of healthy living like access to parks, trails, and fitness centers, as well as air quality, commuting practices, and availability of farmers markets. This year Bethesda, MD, home of the National Institutes of Health, takes the top spot pushing my beloved San Francisco, CA, out of first place.

Here is the list of the other metro areas to make the top 10:

  1. San Francisco, CA
  2. Honolulu, HI
  3. Nassau-Suffolk counties (Long Island), NY
  4. Cambridge, MA
  5. Stamford, CT
  6. New York City, NY
  7. Santa Ana, CA
  8. San Jose, CA
  9. Seattle, WA

To see where the fittest women in the US live, as well as the least healthy cities, just read more.

Fittest women: Santa Ana, CA
These ladies exercise vigorously nearly 30 percent more than the average woman included in the survey.

Healthiest hearts: Minneapolis, MN
Women in the mini-apple have low levels of hypertension.

Healthiest eaters: San Francisco, CA
Close to the some of the best farmland in the country, women in SF eat an average of 52 servings of fruit a month.

Most health clubs: Springfield, MA

Most likely to walk to work: New York City, NY

Now for the metro areas where women's health was considered the worst:

  • Detroit, MI
  • Gary, IN
  • St. Louis, MO
  • Toledo, OH
  • Oklahoma City, OK
  • Indianapolis, IN
  • Tulsa, OK
  • Kansas City, MO
  • Cincinnati, OH
  • Wichita, KS

If your hometown didn't make either list, you can check the stats of your town using a interactive map created by Self. I am going to go eat some fruit and map out my new bike route to work. What about you?

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