- European cities take the top spots among the 40 cities included in the survey
- Happiness levels, physical activity, number of hours of sunshine were among metrics used
- Cities in Japan and USA finish at the bottom of the league
Many people seek to live healthy lives today – but where is the healthiest city in the world to live? A new study has found the answer – and it lies in Europe.
Amsterdam in the Netherlands has been named as the healthiest city in the world, beating off competition from Brussels in Belgium and Boston in the USA, according to research by Healthnews.
Healthnews arrived at its conclusion by judging 40 cities from around the world against 10 key metrics, including happiness levels, average physical activity, sunshine hours, air quality, average workweek, and the cost of gym memberships, among others. They assigned weighted scores to each metric and combined them to give each city a total score out of 100.
Porto in Portugal ranked fourth, followed by Vancouver in Canada. The rest of the top 10 comprised Chicago (USA), Dublin (Ireland), Melbourne (Australia), Miami (USA), and Vienna (Austria).
So what makes Amsterdam so good a place to live in? There were several factors. For instance, there is a long-established cycling culture in the city, with nearly two third of residents using a bicycle daily. This not only means residents are active – indeed, Amsterdam residents spend 12.8 hours per week on physical activity, twice the global average – but also it cuts down on polluting traffic. Unsurprisingly obesity levels are below average at just over 15%.
In addition, Amsterdam ranked as the sixth happiest in the world, and, perhaps not coincidentally, has the shortest average working week at just 30 hours. This can help to give residents more time for sporting and leisure activities.
At the other end of the scale, the cities of Bangkok, Tokyo, and San Francisco were identified as the least healthy due to a combination of factors, including air quality issues and the cost of living impacting access to healthy food and fitness options.
