Centrum and BestPlaces recently collaborated on a study that ranked the health of the United States' 50 largest metropolitan areas. The factors that were considered in the rankings included the following: health status, nutrition and exercise, mental health and life balance. I'm not sure how empirical any of these factors really are, but the Banshee is a sucker for any countdown.
According to this study, the healthiest city in America is San Jose, CA. San Jose was followed by Washington, D.C. D.C. probably managed to finish that high because drug use and violent crime are not factors in the study. But enough about the healthy places. Let's look at the other end of the spectrum.
The unhealthiest city in America is ... drum roll, please ... New Orleans, LA. The Banshee just visited the Big Easy about 6 weeks ago, and I gotta tell you that this ranking comes as no surprise. After all, this is a city where public drunkeness is actually encouraged. Drinks are served in to-go cups so that you don't even have to take a break as you walk from one bar to another. Plus, just breathing in the stanko air down there for any length of time has got to give you some kind of lung fungus. Don't get me wrong, though, there is plenty of fun in Nawlins.
Perhaps the most shocking info in the study is the horrid health condition of the state of Ohio. All three of the of the Buckeye state's major cities made it into the top ten. Columbus ranked 6, Cleveland ranked 4, and Cincinnati ranked 3. Perhaps this explains why Ohio sports franchises range from mediocre (the Indians) to downright embarassing (the Brownies). Once players get there, they are doomed to becoming fat and sick.
