Some not-so great news for Cincinnati in a recent issue of Men’s Health magazine: The publication, which every few years offers a poll on the most and least healthy U.S. cities for men, has come out with its latest rankings and the Queen City tapped in at number 76 of the 100 cities ranked for the upcoming year.
The poll takes fitness opportunities, availability of healthy food, favorite food choices and other factors, like the prevalence of workplace wellness programs, into consideration.
It also takes into account mortality rates for the top five causes of death for men, health screening rates, smoking statistics and air pollution statistics, among other things.
Raleigh, N.C., finished in the top spot of this year’s list, followed by San Jose, Calif., in second place and Madison, Wis. in third. Anaheim, Calif., Burlington, Vt., Plano and Austin in Texas, Charlotte, N.C. and San Diego followed close behind.
The win for Raleigh was a story of changed circumstances. With high smoking and obesity rates, the city was a poor performer in the magazine’s polls until 2013, when it started to change its fortunes. Men’s Health cited 150 miles of running and bike trails the city has built in recent years, with another 100 in the planning stages, and Raleigh’s popular 30,000-foot Farmer’s Market as catalysts for the improvement, which should offer hope for Cincinnati.
Piling onto the bad news is another quality of life poll put out by nutrition supplement firm that gives Cincinnati an “F” in its health report card. The Centrum Healthiest Cities Study recently released its first rankings, with focused on nutrition and exercise. It ranks Cincinnati as its third most-unhealthy major city behind only New Orleans and San Antonio.
As for the Men’s Health poll, the Queen City does show evidence of improvement. The last time the magazine published its rankings in 2014, Cincinnati came in at No. 80. Cincy also returned with a better ranking than Cleveland and Toledo, two other of Ohio’s big cities. (Columbus was ranked 57th.)
And not all the news is bad for Tri-State residents, though. Last year, the website “Better Doctors” ranked Cincinnati as the fourth healthiest metropolitan area in the U.S. Why the disparaity? The Best Doctors poll also looked at the general health of residents and activities, but weighed the availability of top healthcare heavily in its rankings. Buoyed by top-notch hospitals in the area, and highly rated doctors, the Queen City jumped up seven spots from its 10th ranking the previous year.
