10.10.16

Can Your City Make You Healthy?

Boston, San Francisco Lead the Nation in Active Living

Can your city make you healthy?

New research from Gallup and Sharecare shows that active living environments—those communities that invest in bike paths, parks, walkability and public transit—have residents with better outcomes in key aspects of well-being. A new report, part of the Gallup-Sharecare State of American Well-Being series, examines the active living environment within 48 medium- to large-size metro communities across the U.S. and the associated relationship with various aspects of residents’ well-being.

Across the communities studied nationwide, residents in the five highest active living communities have, on average, significantly lower rates of smoking, obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and depression; and significantly higher rates of exercise, healthy eating, fresh produce consumption, and those thriving in physical well-being as compared to residents in communities with low active living infrastructure.

Based on a new metric – the Active Living score -, Boston and San Francisco are the highest two active living communities in the U.S., with Chicago, New York, and Washington D.C. rounding out the top five. Indiana and Oklahoma each have two of the lowest five active living communities, with Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, Oklahoma City and Tulsa scoring low for active living infrastructure.

To discover where other communities — including yours — fall within the rankings, download a copy of the report today. You can also subscribe to content from the Well-Being Index; by subscribing, we’ll let you know when we release new reports and insights from the Well-Being Index.