What makes a city healthy for women? Pretty much the same things that make a city healthy for men, and then some. When Self magazine took it upon themselves to rate the 100 healthiest cities for women, the editors looked at 7,000 pieces of data, most from government sources, in 50 categories including disease rates, obesity, environmental factors, crime levels, and women’s lifestyle habits like sleep, smoking, and diet. Sara Austin, features director at Self told Daily Dose blogger Deborah Kotz that the number one city, Cambridge, Mass., took the honor because it had low rates of crime and depression, and high rates of cancer screening and, yes, servings of produce. Here are Self magazine’s ten healthiest cities for women:
1. Cambridge-Newton-Framingham, MA
2. Bethesda-Gaithersburg-Frederick, MD
3. San Francisco–Oakland, CA
4. Minneapolis–St. Paul–Bloomington, MN
6. Portland–South Portland–Biddeford, ME
7. Honolulu, HI
8. Fargo, ND
9. Burlington–South Burlington, VT