In a recent article by the Naples Daily News, Naples ranked #1 as the happiest and healthiest city in the United States. The article below is a great read, but also opens up the conversation about truly being happy and healthy. Studies show that untreated hearing loss can lead to cognitive decline which can result in seclusion and depression. Early intervention is the best medicine. Don’t wait any longer. Do you or someone you know suffer from hearing loss? Schedule a free in-depth hearing exam at our office today!
The happiest, healthiest city in the US is…
It has a Fifth Avenue, lots of shopping and a hot real estate market, but the country’s healthiest and happiest city is nowhere near the Big Apple.
Naples, Florida, and the nearby communities of Marco Island and Immokalee top the Gallup-Healthways State of American Well-Being: 2015 Community Rankings list released on Tuesday. The report measures how residents of 190 U.S. cities feel about their physical health, social ties, financial security, community and sense of purpose.
“Naples is a high well-being place,” Dan Witters, research director of the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, told TODAY. “People in Naples really like their communities.” It doesn’t hurt that the city is affluent, Witters said. But while well-being goes up with income, it’s not beholden to it, he added.
The top five U.S. communities with the highest well-being are:
1. Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island, Florida
2. Salinas, California
3. North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, Florida
4. Fort Collins, Colorado
5. Barnstable Town, Massachusetts
When it comes to the bottom of the list, Charleston, West Virginia comes in dead last. Why did it rank so low?
“Take your pick,” Witters said. “They don’t take very good care of themselves… It’s a low well-being place, as is West Virginia generally.” The state scored last in the 2015 Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index released last month.
Smoking is “through the roof” in Charleston, with 32 percent of adults there revealing they smoke — the highest rate in the nation, he noted. Many of the city’s residents are obese and seldom exercise. Many are depressed.
They also worry about money: food and health care insecurity is “crazy high,” with about a quarter of the city’s residents reporting they couldn’t afford food or a doctor’s visit in the last 12 months, Witters said.
The five communities at the bottom of the list are:
186. Chico, California
187. Huntington-Ashland, West Virginia-Kentucky-Ohio
188. Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, North Carolina
189. Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma
190. Charleston, West Virginia
“These rankings — it’s never about picking on somebody. It’s never about trying to embarrass a community,” Witters said.
“What we are really hoping, and the reason we release these rankings, is that it serves as a call to action; that it lights a little fire under the toes of the communities that are low on the list.”
The results are based on phone interviews with more than 353,000 Americans in 2014 and 2015.
Now it’s time to take control of your own health and get a baseline hearing test! It’s free and easy! Remember: It may just be wax!
Call today to schedule your free in-depth hearing screeing at either of our Naples offices: 239-593-5327
