LatinaLista — Who would have thought Washington, D.C. would have the lowest stress ratings of all the major cities in the country?
They do according to a new study done for the American Heart Association’s Go Red For Women movement.
The study, done by Sperling’s BestPlaces, cited cities of various sizes in lists identifying the best and worst heart-healthy towns for women.
The 10 best heart-friendly metro areas with a population of 1.5 million and greater are:
1. Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN
2. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC
3. San Francisco-San Jose-Oakland, CA
4. Denver-Aurora, CO
5. Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA
6. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
7. Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, OR
8. San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA
9. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA
10. Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ
The 10 worst:
1. Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro, TN
2. St. Louis, MO
3. Detroit-Warren-Livonia, MI
4. Pittsburgh, PA
5. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
6. Columbus, OH
7. Cincinnati-Middletown, OH
8. Las Vegas-Paradise, NV
9. Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, OH
10. Indianapolis, IN
Notice a pattern?
Cities that were the most heart-friendly were either places that were totally body conscious like Los Angeles or were meccas for outdoor sports like Denver. Likewise, the towns on the least heart-friendly list were places whose only sports were either shopping or gambling.
The study focused on the 200 largest metro areas in the country and focused on such heart-healthy factors as smoking, obesity, exercise and cardiac mortality rate. There were some interesting findings in the study. Such as:
Minneapolis-St. Paul, Boston and Phoenix reported the lowest female cardiac mortality rates in the country; Detroit, Nashville and St. Louis reported the highest.
San Francisco, Denver and Los Angeles were the thinnest mega metros; Cleveland, San Antonio and Columbus were among the most overweight.
Our nation’s capital, Washington, D.C., reported the lowest stress ratings of all the mega metros while Portland, OR reported the highest stress levels in the category.
While summer has always been a big factor in motivating women to get fit since less clothes are required during these months, this new survey points out the benefits of staying motivated to be fit all year long.
