Boston is the number one active living community in the U.S., according to new research assessing active living factors within large and mid-sized communities across the U.S. Rounding out the top five are San Francisco, Chicago, New York City and Washington D.C.
The report from Healthways and Gallup examined the active living infrastructure within 48 medium and large metro communities across the U.S. and the respective impact on various aspects of residents’ well-being. Gallup and Healthways analyzed four key components of a community’s built environment including walkability, bike-ability, availability of parks and public transit structure to calculate an active living score.
Residents in the five highest ranked active living communities had, on average, significantly lower rates of obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and depression as compared to residents in the five lowest ranked active living communities. The highest active living communities also reported better health behaviors including higher rates of exercise, healthy eating, fresh produce consumption and lower rates of smoking.
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.
For more information and to access the complete report, “State of American Well-Being: Active Living Environment in U.S. Communities,” visit well-beingindex.com/2016-community-impact.
