America's Unhealtiest Cities.

New Orleans is considered the unhealthiest city in American, according to a new study released by Bert Sperling's BestPlaces and multivitamin-maker Centrum. The Centrum Healthiest Cities Study is the first-ever comprehensive "health report card" of the 50 largest metro areas in the U.S. that’s based on key factors including health status, nutrition and exercise, plus mental health and life balance, which also contribute to overall well-being.

According to the report card, in the nationwide battle to be among the healthiest cities, Ohioans may be dismayed to discover their top three metropolitan areas are in the bottom 10—Cincinnati, Cleveland and Columbus. Here’s the breakdown of the 10 unhealthiest cities, ranked from “best” to worst and reasons they have such a bad rap.

10) Indianapolis

The Indianapolis metro area scored slightly above the average in lifestyle pursuits and physical activity, but low in the areas of mental wellness, health status and diet. Residents reported low levels of exercise and poor scores for BMI, smoking and consumption of fruits and vegetables. On a positive note, Indianapolis did record better-than-average scores for diabetes, arthritis and asthma.

9) Las Vegas

Las Vegas had average scores in the categories of mental wellness and lifestyle pursuits, but had poor scores in physical activity, health status and diet. Stress and alcohol consumption were high, and the metro area recorded the lowest scores for dental care and smoking. Consumption of fruits and vegetables, and the number of physicians per capita were also very low.

8) New York City

“The City That Never Sleeps” doesn’t have the lowest score for restful sleep, though it is in the lowest third of our study. New Yorkers reported very good scores for BMI, physicians per capita and diabetes, but this was overshadowed by low exercise and high rates of hypertension, arthritis and asthma.

7) Detroit

If Detroit were a baseball player, one might say it was “mired in a slump.” Detroit had the lowest score for mental wellness and significantly low scores in diet, lifestyle pursuits and physical activity. Detroit residents reported stress, sleeping problems and poor general health. Despite this, its health status score was very high. Detroit inexplicably combines one of the worst BMI scores with the study’s lowest rate of reported hypertension and high cholesterol.

6) Columbus, Ohio

Columbus owes its “Bottom 10” appearance to low scores in health status and diet, despite average scores in the other three major categories. Columbus area residents report a high level of physical activity, low stress and, like other Ohio cities, a significantly lower level of arthritis. But Columbus also recorded some of the study’s worst scores for BMI, consumption of fruits and vegetables, fast food outlets, and alcohol consumption.

5) Orlando, Fla.

Despite its reputation as a vacation destination, Orlando had one of the lowest scores in mental wellness. Its residents reported sleep problems and poor physical and mental health. On the bright side, levels of reported diabetes and hypertension were below average, as was high cholesterol.

4) Cleveland-Lorain-Elyria

Cleveland scored fairly well in the health status categories but fell short in the other four major categories. Residents of Cleveland reported some of the worst scores for BMI, restful sleep and fast food outlets per capita. On a positive note, Cleveland had some of the lowest rates of hypertension and arthritis.

3) Cincinnati

Cincinnati had a strong showing in the category of lifestyle pursuits, but stumbled in the other four major categories. Mental wellness and diet had particularly low scores. Though its stress level, lack of sleep and BMI were high, Cleveland did show better-than-average rates of diabetes and arthritis.

2) San Antonio

San Antonio reported generally low scores in all categories, with only the health status rising above average. Though it did have the lowest rates of diabetes in the study, it also had low scores for dental care, and its residents had the highest BMI number.

1) New Orleans

New Orleans was at the bottom of our list of America’s Healthiest Cities, with the study’s lowest scores for physical activity and lifestyle pursuits. Apparently the residents of “The Big Easy” believe in taking it easy, because their exercise scores were some of the lowest in the study. They also had the lowest score for consuming fruits and vegetables, but reported low rates of diabetes and hypertension.

 

NO doesn't surprise me.