Chicago

4 Qualities Explain Why Big Cities Are Healthier: Survey

The American cities with the healthiest, happiest residents are Boston, San Francisco, Chicago, New York and Washington, D.C., according to a new survey that scored communities on important health measures, NBC News reported.

While they may not shriek "healthy living," they all have lots of sidewalks, parks and good public transportation, a report from Gallup and Healthways found. The four key components the group identified are walkability, easy biking, parks and public transit.

"Residents in these top five communities have, on average, significantly lower rates of smoking, obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and depression compared with those in the five lowest-ranked active living communities," the groups said in a statement, adding to a large body of research that's found that access to green spaces, lowered stress and other factors translate into lower rates of disease and longer lives.

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