Healthiest Cities For Women

Can a city be healthy? Or, more specifically, can a city be healthy for women? Apparently yes, according to Women's Health's fourth annual Healthiest Cities for Women ranking.

Women's Health's research team compiled data on 38 measures of health and well being, including access to medical care, cancer rates, obesity rates and longevity. The team also looked at lifestyle factors -- everything from nutrition to unemployment to happiness and fitness -- by using survey responses from places like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Census and the American Cancer Society. Once they established an overall health score, each city was ranked. While many of the cities that made the top ten have been healthy for years, there were three newcomers: Madison, Burlington and Portland.

Is anything changing? "It was interesting to see how mental health has started to play a bigger role in determining outcomes," said Sascha de Gersdorff, the features editor at Women's Health, who oversaw the report. "We always measured it, but now you can really see the connection between mental health, fitness, jobs and physical health."

See the full top 10 below, along with a few bonus rankings based on particular measures of health. Then click over to Women's Health for the full ranking, as well as the 10 least healthy cities for women.

Comments

[Tony massie]

12:12 AM on 04/05/2012

I thought San Francisco would have made the list

[Vasya Bricklyn]

12:46 AM on 04/08/2012

Shall I name the ones that aren't? Quite frankly, I haven't lived around or near one yet in the US that I would say that people have a "healthy" attitude- and that goes beyond the sexes.

[sonyab]

08:08 PM on 01/16/2012

More on women's health on www.resolutionguru.com Great articles and information on the healthiest countries, tips on how to have a better life, etc. Great resource!!

[tiemposdepaz]

02:58 PM on 01/16/2012

That's not Virginia Beach, VA. Maybe Norfolk, Va? Where did they find that picture? It would be more suitable to show a ranch or the beach houses. I agree there's a healthy people in VB, but I don't find Hampton Roads area to be exceptionally healthier than anywhere else. The only thing is with the military, the population is pretty young with an average age of 26,27, where here in Jersey its 36,37.

[purerealms]

09:51 AM on 01/16/2012

You've got to be kidding. Boulder always has been and always will be the healthiest place for women with the healthiest women. By a long shot. Amen.

[pollyhanaha]

03:39 PM on 01/14/2012

Why such a cruddy picture of MPLS, MN?? All the others have beautiful pictures of their city. Oh well... Just as long as they made we made the list.

[Jennifer Kley]

05:14 PM on 01/16/2012

That's exactly what I was thinking...Healthy & fog? Oy. I think these lists are weirder by the year. Has anyone ever taken a Best Places to Live (for you) quiz? It always puts me in places I don't even like. Or CT, which I've never been to...yet.

http://thecubiclerebel.wordpress.com/

[laveena l]

12:39 PM on 01/14/2012

Le bon conseiller aux femmes d'exercer J'ai aimé l' .

[clearthinker2008]

08:29 AM on 01/14/2012

Dang, does everything have to be a time consuming slide show now. Just the 10 would have been too easy, huh?

[anitafeeney]

07:31 AM on 01/14/2012

too bad rhode island didnt make thelist we never make any list for anything positive lol

[sk3navy]

06:33 AM on 01/14/2012

MEN stay way from those cities. What bull

[Eileen Virnig]

11:05 PM on 01/15/2012

Actually Madison made the men's list as well. I have to admit I HATED Madison for the first few years I lived here...don't yet love it...but have come to like some things about it...still miss Chicago BIG time.

[theroadnowtaken]

04:39 AM on 01/14/2012

Where do you guys get your info from? Do you just think of cool cities you would like to live in and because it looks 'pretty' it's safer there from getting Breast Cancer? So wrong.

[FreeSpeech4All]

03:34 AM on 01/14/2012

This list makes no sense to me. I know of a lot of places that are healthier than some on this list. The stats don't measure up or tell the whole story. I live in the "other" Portland (Oregon) and there is plenty to recommend here when it comes to a healthy lifestyle.

[angelic dilemma]

02:46 AM on 01/14/2012

interesting findings

[jacquelynQ]

01:40 AM on 01/14/2012

correction: San Jose is 2. woops :)

[jacquelynQ]

01:35 AM on 01/14/2012

I'm very surprised that San Jose came in first. It's terribly smoggy. Air pollution has been attributed to multiple reproductive problems effecting the fetus/ child, ie; decreased birthweight, brain growth, eye development, asthma, pre-mature birth, and a weakened immune system. These things are hardly healthy for mom and child.

[jaysea19]

12:38 AM on 01/14/2012

Palm Springs CA is breathtaking! Clear, sunny skies 95% of the year. No wind, healthy people bicycling, tennis, jogging. Every one is happy go luckyI who makes up these determinations anyway?