Give Me a Break...Philly One of the Unhealthiest Cities?!
By JACKIE MORLOCK
Updated 11:29 AM EST, Fri, Dec 5, 2008
Not only has the city of Philadelphia been labeled in the past as having some of the “Fattest” and “least attractive” people, it’s now one of the unhealthiest cities for women to live.
Philadelphia is ranked pretty dang low on Self Magazine’s scale of “Healthiest Cities for Women,” to live. And, by low we’re talking number 84 out of 100 cities. Well, on the bright side, at least we’re not ranked dead last like Detroit (sorry guys!).
About 8,000 pieces of data in more than 50 categories were analyzed, including death and disease rates, environmental indicators and community resources and lifestyle habits, to develop this healthful or, in Philly’s case, depressing list, according to Self Magazine.
The analysis of data collected shows that a woman’s risk of dying of cancer is 13 percent higher than average and that violent crime is 43 percent above average in Philadelphia. The city also received low scores for the prevalence of toxic sites.
Hey, there are some positives though. Philadelphia is one of the top 10 areas for use of mass transit and percentage of woman that walk to work, women are 24 percent less likely to die in an auto accident and there are 77 percent more psychiatrists per capita than list average (Thank goodness).
Other cities in the Tri-State area were featured on the list as well. It may come as no surprise that they were all ranked higher than Philly.
The Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton, Pa. area ranked number 58 with rape reports 43 percent below the list average; but rated above average for heart disease deaths, depression and smoking.
Camden, NJ ranked number 66, a big improvement from it's number 2 spot in the nation's most dangerous cities. Although Camden was below the average for suicide rates, it had one of the highest rates of colon cancer.
Wilmington, DE came in at number 59. Apparently, the residents of Wilmington know their sex…safe sex that is. The city received good scores for safe sex knowledge and practices. But, they were seen as having 26 percent more violent crime than the average. The rate of cancer death was also above average.
To see the list of complete rankings go to Self Magazine.
First Published: Dec 5, 2008 8:55 AM EST
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