America's healthiest cities: our survey crowned San Francisco as the city that fosters the healthiest lifestyle for its residents. See how your favorite city measures up. Plus: learn how to live naturally healthy anywhere - Natural Health's Fourth Annual

Natural Health, April, 2003 by Clare Horn

IT'S NO SURPRISE THAT WHERE YOU LIVE often determines how healthy you are. If you have access to plenty of park space, you'll probably get outside to walk more frequently. And if a natural food store sits around the corner, you'll be more likely to buy a healthy dinner.

With that fact in mind, we screened the 50 largest cities to uncover which ones foster the healthiest lifestyle. We looked for cities that have lots of natural medicine practitioners and places to exercise, easy access to healthy food and public transportation, clean air and water, and a strong sense of community. Discover what makes our winners so great.

SAN FRAN IS ONE OF AMERICA'S PRICIEST cities, but residents get their money's worth in healthy living opportunities. The city edged out the other 49 metropolises we surveyed because it's so easy to stay fit, eat healthy, and access natural therapies there. The city allocates nearly 20 percent of its land to park space, so San Franciscans have plenty of places to exercise outside or just relax in nature. With temperate weather year-round and 265 sunny days each year (seven more than Los Angeles), residents can readily take advantage of that green space.

And with 79 restaurants that serve predominantly vegetarian options, the city practically encourages healthy eating. The San Francisco Vegetarian Society, established in 1968, makes good food social by promoting monthly vegetarian potlucks (for more information, visit www.sfvs.org). Add to that a steadily growing eco-friendly restaurant movement (one in which restaurant professionals use mostly locally grown foods and environmentally sound products), and eating right gets even easier.

But you're on your own in San Fran when it comes to cultivating a sense of community through religious involvement. Our survey found that San Francisco has very few houses of worship per capita. This could cheat your health; studies show that people who get involved in their religion are healthier than those who don't.

1 San Francisco California

Vital Stats:

POPULATION: 746,777 SIZE: 46,7 square miles

AVERAGE DAILY TEMPERATURES: (Jan.) 49 degrees (July) 63 degrees

RESIDENTS' AVERAGE LIFE EXPECTANCY: 76 years

Healthy City Highlights:

* The Bay City boasts 523 acupuncturists, more per capita than any other city we evaluated.

* Having more yoga studios than any of our other top cities makes it easy to stay fit and centered in San Francisco.

One Drawback:

Of our top five cities, San Fran had the fewest houses of worship per capita, which detracted from its sense of community.

WHAT WE MEASURED

We enlisted the help of Cambridge, Mass.-based statistical consultant Robert Smith, Ph.D., to help us crunch the numbers using 26 criteria in the following four categories.

Whether the City Boasts Natural Offerings

We calculated the number per capita of acupuncturists, chiropractors, holistic doctors, homeopaths, naturopathic physicians, holistic veterinarians, farmers markets, natural food stores, eco-friendly eateries (ones that use organic food, for example), and restaurants serving mostly vegetarian food.

How Well the City Promotes Its Residents' Physical Health

We looked at the number per capita of fast-food restaurants (the fewer, the better), fitness centers, and yoga studios; the percentage of land devoted to park space; and whether or not a city allows smoking in restaurants and bars.

Whether the City Offers a Healthy Environment

We examined air and water quality; the pounds of toxic chemicals dumped per year; the number of public buses and rail cars per capita; public bus route miles per square mile; and miles of rail tracks per square mile.

How Well the City Fosters a Sense of Community

We checked the number per capita of volunteer opportunities, community-building programs (like youth athletic groups, elderly support services, and community gardens), and houses of worship per capita; and the number of law enfforcement employees per crime.

WASHINGTON, D.C., DOESN'T JUST CULTIVATE political connections; it fosters solid community ties, too. It has more community-building programs per capita than any of the other 49 cities we ranked. These programs include neighborhood garden initiatives, youth athletics organizations, and groups that provide support for the elderly. And to combat the crime rate in Washington, D.C., Mayor Anthony Williams staffed the District's police department with 4,468 employees--more employees per crime than any other city we surveyed except New York City.

D.C.'s commitment to a strong, safe community rivals its resolve to provide a clean environment. Despite a dismal water quality ranking, the city had top scores in our Healthy Environment category. Its Clean City Initiative, formed to stop littering, graffiti, and illegal waste disposal, helps create a healthy environment for District residents. The city follows some of the strictest environmental laws in the nation, and its model Environmental Crimes Unit has convicted more than 400 violators over the past five years.