Charleston Real Estate
Real Estate at its Best!
 
Sign InSign Up
gradient header

 

Charleston Women third fittest

 

Self Magazine ranks cities fit for women.

 

Story last updated at 8:27 a.m. Monday, November 15, 2004

Charleston 3rd fittest city in USA

Self magazine ranks cities fit for women

BY DAVID QUICK
Of The Post and Courier Staff

Charleston women -- do you feel as if you're living in the third fittest city in America?

Self magazine thinks so.

The women's self-improvement magazine ranks the Charleston area -- known more for its politeness than willingness to sweat -- as the third fittest place "for women to live in" of nearly 200 metropolitan areas in the United States. Only Seattle and Salinas, Calif., were more fit.

The ranking was part of the magazine's fifth annual survey, "America's Healthiest (and Unhealthiest) Places for Women" in its current issue.

Unfortunately, Charleston didn't rank as high in the overall healthiest category. We ranked 42nd overall out of 200. Orange County, Calif., was the healthiest place, while Flint, Mich., was the least healthy place.

Sara Austin, news director of Self, says the survey was based on 35 criteria -- such as obesity rates, number of health clubs and parks per capita, air quality, death and disease rates, violent crime and access to health care -- from sources such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Environmental Protection Agency.

The data was weighted via a panel of experts and a survey of magazine readers.

Austin says Charleston scored big on the fitness ranking primarily for three reasons, including the amount of time women say they spend exercising. Eighty-six percent reported getting some kind of regular exercise. Also, Charleston has 4,500 acres of nearby parks and beaches available for walking, running and other forms of exercise. Third, the region recently landed an "Active Living By Design" grant by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which is supposed to foster active lifestyles.

Why rank metropolitan areas like this?

"While it's fun for readers, it's more about surveying what's going on in women's health and to give people ideas and motivation to improve their communities. When you understand what you can do to make improvements, you can get to work on making those improvements," says Austin.It apparently has helped spark interest in Memphis, Tenn., Austin claims. The city known for ribs and blues music was ranked 200th out of 200 one year. Shortly thereafter, "Memphis on the Move" was created. This year, Memphis has climbed to 163rd place.

Similar initiatives took place in Modesto, Calif., and Ocala, Fla., after Self gave those communities less than stellar rankings. (Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson, by the way, was ranked 193rd.)

Sometimes, a city's rise in the rankings is based as much on a change in priorities than taking steps to improvement.

Last year, Charleston was ranked 68th overall. Increased weighting, no pun intended, on obesity rates helped boost the region's ranking. Austin says that while Charleston's rate of 26.2 was barely below the national average, many cities have even worse problems.

HEALTH SURVEY

SELF'S TOP FIVE HEALTHIEST AREAS

1. Orange County, Calif.

2. Burlington, Vt.

3. Stamford-Norwalk, Conn.

4. Provo-Orem, Utah

5. Nassau-Suffolk counties, N.Y.

SELF'S LEAST HEALTHY CITIES

1. Flint, Mich.

2. Gary, Ind.

3. Lafayette, La.

4. Baton Rouge, La.

5. Ocala, Fla.

 

Site Map

 

Mark Costello - AgentOwned Realty

 

1400 Palm Blvd.

 
 

Isle of Palms, SC. 29451

 

Cell 843.224.3233 - Fax 843.725.6532

 
 


Fair Housing Act

 

 

 
 
Privacy Notice:
AgentOwned Realty understands and appreciates the importance of our client's privacy and any information you provide us will be kept in the strictest of confidence.

 

Copyrights 2005 by Charleston Home Advisor.  All rights reserved.
No part of this website may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission from the owners.