Colorado cities rank among least obese metro areas in the nation

Fort Collins/Loveland and Boulder are the slimmest and among the healthiest metro areas in the nation, according to the current Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index.

The study reports that Fort Collins/Loveland's obesity rate of 16 percent is the lowest of any metro area in the country, but Boulder’s isn't much higher at 16.6 percent, making it the second lowest. Colorado Springs ranked fourth for having the least obese residents at 17.2 percent, and Denver/Aurora tied for 10th at 19.3 percent. Colorado and California had the most metro areas - four each - among the 10 least obese.

Gallup calculates Body Mass Index (BMI) results using respondents' self-reported height and weight. Americans with a BMI of 30 or above are considered obese. Gallup polled adults aged 18 and older in 187 metro areas in 2009.

America's 10 least obese metro areas boast an average obesity rate of 18.7 percent – 15.1 percentage points lower than that of the nation's 10 most obese places and significantly better than the national average.

Among the 10 least obese metro areas, Boulder stood out as it performed the best across the board on Gallup and Healthway's indexes measuring healthy behaviors, community conditions and physical health. Residents there are among the most likely in the country to get frequent exercise, and at 5 percent, are among the least likely of citizens in any of the 187 metro areas surveyed to have diabetes. To compare, the metro area with the highest level of reported diabetes is McAllen/Edinburg/Mission, Texas, at 18.9 percent. It is also worth noting that Boulder tops all U.S. metro areas in overall well-being.

Gallup sites healthy behaviors as the common denominator among residents of the 10 least obese metro areas, as nine of the 10 areas rank in the top third of the Gallup-Healthways Healthy Behavior Index, which measures exercise, eating and smoking habits. Majorities of residents in each of the 10 least obese places report that they ate healthy "yesterday," eat fruits and vegetables frequently, and exercise regularly. Half or more of residents in all of the least obese areas report exercising for at least 30 minutes three or more days per week. This stands in contrast to the nation's 10 most obese metro areas, where in all but one less than half report exercising at the same frequency. Smoking rates are also lower than the national average across all but one of the least obese areas.

Conditions within a community also play a major role in the number of obese residents. The Gallup-Healthways Basic Access Index finds that residents in almost all of the nation’s least obese metro areas report above-average levels of access to affordable fresh fruits and vegetables, having a safe place to exercise, having enough money to buy food and having health insurance.

All of the least obese metro areas in the U.S. have diabetes levels lower than the national average as well as fewer heart attacks – a result of eating healthier and exercising.

According to Gallup, Boulder and the nine other areas that accompany it as the nation's 10 least obese places can serve as examples from which other communities can learn. Still, even the 16 percent obesity rate in the least obese place in the country as recorded by Gallup today is slightly higher than the obesity levels reported by the government in the United States in the 1980s, suggesting that the country has a long way to go to reverse the enormous increase in obesity rates of the past 30 years.

Boulder happiest, healthiest city in the U.S., according to study

If you’re looking to escape your worries and find happiness, you’re living in the right place.

According to the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, which interviewed more than 353,000 Americans last year, Boulder is home to the healthiest, happiest people in the nation.

In fact, most of the highest-scoring cities were in the West – such as Boulder, which topped the list. On the other end of the spectrum, most of the lowest-scoring cities were in the South, such as Huntington, W.Va., which ranked last out of the 162 large and mid-sized cities in the study, according to an article about the study in USA Today.

The study asked individuals to assess their jobs, finances, physical health, emotional state of mind and communities to provide a city-by-city portrait of the nation’s mood and a potential tool for policymakers, the article says.

Of the 10 cities that scored best on “life evaluation” – assessments of life now and expectations in five years – nine of them are home to institutions that supposedly provide some buffer from recession - a major university, a big military installation or a state capitol.

Boulder was the only Colorado city ranked among the top 10, although the three others on the list were among the top 60. Four cities from California, two in Utah and one in Hawaii all represented the West in the top 10. Only the Holland, Mich., and Washington, D.C., metro areas are located in the Eastern or Central time zones, according to USA Today.

The majority of the bottom 10 cities are in economically embattled regions: three are in the Alleghenies and three in the Rust Belt. Only Shreveport, La., and Modesto, Calif., are west of the Mississippi.

Besides its mountainous setting, with a greenbelt of public lands circling the city, Boulder’s jobless rate of 5.7 percent, compared with the national 9.7 percent, may help its residents remain happy and healthy, according to the article.

Here’s a look at how Colorado cities fared in the study: