Ravings of a Textual Deviant

That is, the Indianapolis metro area is the 10th most unhealthy city in the United States, according to MSN.

The Indianapolis metro area scored slightly above the average in lifestyle pursuits and physical activity, but low in the areas of mental wellness, health status and diet. Residents reported low levels of exercise and poor scores for BMI [Body Mass Index], smoking and consumption of fruits and vegetables. On a positive note, Indianapolis did record better-than-average scores for diabetes, arthritis and asthma.

Mind you, this is no surprise to me, and apparently we’re better off than Las Vegas, New York, Detroit, Orlando, San Antonio, and bottom-of-the-barrel New Orleans. San Jose, California, (very close to my former home of Cupertino) came in as the healthiest city in the U. S., followed by most of the rest of California, and oddly enough, Washington DC.

Despite the “slightly above average” rating for physical activity, I would not be surprised if part of our negative rating for exercise has to do with the fact that Indy is about as bicycle-and-pedestrian unfriendly as it gets, with the rule-proving exception of the Monon Trail. Combine that with our lack of decent public transit, and you’re stuck driving everywhere that’s further than your mailbox.

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 16th, 2005 at 7:56 am and is filed under This Modern World. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.