Self magazine, in its December issue, named San Francisco number one on the list of the nation’s one hundred healthiest cities. The magazine used fifty categories such as habits, resources in the community, environmental cues, rates of disease, and many more elements of a lifestyle. The magazine enlisted the services of a data analysis firm to gather the information and along with an expert panel, analyzed the data weighing criteria according to relevance.
If you’ve ever been to see one of San Francisco’s most popular sightseeing attractions, Fisherman’s Wharf, you might wonder how a city with so much fried food might fare so well. But that is in-fact just the tourist food; the offerings for those arriving from the least healthy cities across America. If you were to walk just a few blocks in any direction from Fisherman’s Wharf (except north; you’ll get wet) it will quickly become obvious that the locals don’t eat anything like that. The city on the bay with almost two million people is rife with organic food and fresh produce. In fact, San Francisco residents consume more fruit than any other city – fifty two servings per month. You can’t stand on a corner with good eyesight and not see a Whole Foods, Real Foods, food co-operative, farmer’s market, organic food store, or produce truck making a delivery.
As a result of eating so well, San Francisco residents have the lowest rate of obesity, the best on the list for dental health, and second on the list for healthiest hearts. The fact that San Francisco was also found to have the residents who were the most likely to cycle to work probably contributed to their hold on the number one position for having the nation’s lowest body mass index. It’s a restaurant city, but it would appear that enjoying food doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice your health.
