Parlor Spider...Step In, Little Fly

Insightful thoughts and/or rants from atop the soapbox from one who wishes to share the "right" opinion with everyone.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Men: Beware of Kansas City!



The picture of health



Men's Health magazine has just published its recommendations for the best (and worst) places for men during the coming year. The emphasis, of course, is on finding those places to live that are best suited for, well, men's health (go figure). Not content with just calling guys on the phone and conducting a survey, the folks at the magazine depended on statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Center for Disease Control, and (gulp!) the FBI to determine which cities had exemplary quality of life characteristics, and which cities should be avoided like, well, like the plague.
One hundred cities were classified according to thirty-five categories, ranging from amount of exercise most folks get, employment figures and air quality to such health-related items as incidence of heart disease, diabetes and depression. All in all, one would have to agree that it was a respectable exhaustive study (except for the researchers who were in shape!).
First, a list of the bottom 5 with no explanation as to the lowly status of each:
5. Jackson, Mississippi
4. Cleveland
3. Tulsa
2. Toledo, Ohio
1. Kansas City, Missouri

If you live in one of these places and panic, go to the magazine for clarification. I did not want to add injury to insult by publishing just why your place is so bad.

Now, for the BEST places for men to live and a quick fact that sets each apart:

5. Boise, Idaho. While the potato capital might seem to emphasize starch, there are a large number of community gardens, and people in the area eat far more healthy meals than most of us.

4. San Jose, California. Warm weather, sure, but a populace near Silicon Valley that recognizes no stigma for mental health issues and, as a result, seek therapy a great deal...supposedly making them more well-adjusted than the rest of us.

3. Plano, Texas. Probably one of the exercise capitals of the country. It features more than 65 miles of trails for hiking, running and mountain biking...and I would guess the trails are a lot less crowded than those in Boulder or Eugene.

2. Madison, Wisconsin. An oddity of sorts, Madison residents report playing more basketball than people in 98 of the other top 100 cities. Somehow, I would have thought of other things for Madison, but...

1. Burlington, Vermont. Despite being home to Ben & Jerry's (now owned by someone else), Burlington residents are among the most health-conscious of Americans when it comes to medical checks and checkups. A top-notch medical center utilizes technology to keep patients apprised of their conditions, and people are also outdoorsy-active. (plus, I suspect there's some brown fat burning going on during the winter!)

Green Bay didn't make either list, and Milwaukee finished at #71 on the "good" list...not much of a recommendation when your city is five or six spots better than Newark!
For now, I'll stick around here and try to limit the cheese curds...at least the deep fried ones.

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