by Dennis Dalman
editor@thenewsleaders.com
People tend to be healthier and live longer in the St. Cloud metro area compared to just about anywhere else, according to 24/7 Wall Street, a Delaware-based analysis company.
St. Cloud (including the surrounding cities) was listed as No. 12 in the healthiest cities in the United States. Rochester, Minn., ranked first. Four other Minnesota cities placed among the top 25 – Mankato, No. 9; and Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, No. 13, right after the St. Cloud metro area.
The analysts at 24/7 Wall Street used all kinds of heath-related statistics to come to their conclusions: the premature death rate, adult obesity rate, percentage of adults without health insurance and median household income – to name just four criteria. Altogether, two dozen measures of health factors and health outcomes were used, which were culled from the County Health Rankings and Roadmaps program, which is a collaboration between the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute.
The study had this to say about the St. Cloud area:
- Premature death rate: 251.6 per 100,000 residents.
- Adult obesity rate: 27.4
- Percentage of adults without health insurance: 5.5 percent.
- Median household income: $54,985, meaning half of the households make more than that, half make less than that.
The study did have a bit of less-than-sterling news with the good news. It stated:
“When it comes to staying active, residents of the St. Cloud metro area are at a distinct disadvantage. Only 68.3 percent of area residents have adequate access to places for physical activity such as recreation centers or parks. In contrast, 84 percent of Americans have adequate access to such locations. Despite the disadvantage, area residents are slightly more likely to regularly participate in physical activity than most Americans. In the St. Cloud metro area, 79 percent of adults are physically active compared to 77 percent of American adults. Remaining active is an important component of a healthy lifestyle, and life expectancy in St. Cloud is about three years longer than it is across the country.”
The study notes life expectancy in the nation is now at 78.5 years and even though that number trails many other countries’ life-expectancy rates, it has climbed steadily in the United States during the past century and the first 16 years of this century.
The study also found there is a direct correlation between people’s ability to afford and to access health care and their longevity numbers as shown in the nation’s 25 healthiest cities/regions. In addition, there is a direct connection between income and health because financially-secure families are much more likely to afford medical treatments and healthy foods on a regular basis. They are also more likely to get the kind of preventive check-ups that can catch medical problems before they reach the crisis stage.
Also noted in the study is that in the healthiest cities, rates for smoking, obesity and other unwise behavioral factors were less than in other places.
No. 1 rated Rochester received a rave review from 24/7 Wall Street. This is the citation:
“Home to one of the Mayo Clinic’s main locations, it’s perhaps no coincidence that Rochester, Minn., is the healthiest city in the United States. Adults in Rochester report an average of only 2.4 physically unhealthy days a month, the fewest of any U.S. city. When area residents need medical attention, there is no shortage of medical professionals in the area. There are roughly 180 primary care physicians for every 100,000 area residents, more doctors per capita than in any other U.S. city.
Area residents are also less likely to smoke, more likely to be physically active and less likely to be obese than the average American. Life expectancy in the Rochester metro area is a near-nation-leading 81.2 years.”
The following are the 25 healthiest cities/areas in the nation:
- Rochester, Minn.
- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif.
- Ames, Iowa.
- Boulder, Colo.
- Iowa City, Iowa.
- Provo-Orem, Utah.
- Logan, Utah.
- Burlington, Vt.
- Mankato.
- La Cross-Onalaska, Wis.
- Fort Collins, Colo.
- St. Cloud metro area.
- Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington.
- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward.
- Fargo, N.D.
- Corvallis, Ore.
- Lincoln, Neb.
- Dubuque, Iowa.
- Appleton, Wis.
- Santa Rosa, Calif.
- Madison, Wis.
- State College, Penn.
- Ann Arbor, Mich.
- Lawrence, Kan.
- Portland, Maine.
