What's Good
- Mayor Gavin Newsom participates in more fitness-related events than most mayors.
- According to the CDC, 19 percent of residents in San Francisco area are clinically obese. The national average is 23.17 percent.
- According to Nielsen Media Research, TV viewers in the San Francisco market spend 51 percent less time in front of the tube than average among cities in our survey.
- According to the CDC's Behavioral Risk Factors Surveillance Survey, just 34 percent of adults here are overweight enough to increase their risk of weight-related health problems. That's the 4th best score of any city in our survey. Compare it to a national average of 58.06 percent.
- The CDC says 84 percent of adults are physically active, at least to the point where they're not putting their health at risk. That's the 5th best score of any city in our survey. The national average for our survey was 76.35 percent.
- In a CDC survey, 84 percent of adults said they'd gotten at least some leisure time exercise in the past month. The average in our survey is 77 percent.
- San Francisco residents received a top score in fruit and vegetable consumption, with 30 percent eating the recommended five or more servings per day.
- Air quality here is among the best of any city in our survey, according to EPA air quality standards.
- San Francisco's climate makes it relatively easy to get out and be active. In a comparison of sunny days, moderate temperatures and humidity, we ranked it 4th best of all cities.
- Despite low availability of local running and biking trails San Francisco residents are 35 percent more likely than average to jog or cycle, a pattern that gave them points in our Motivation category.
- San Francisco residents aren't stuffing themselves with pizza, at least not compared to the rest of the nation. San Francisco is home to 44 percent fewer pizza places per capita than the average among cities in our survey.
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What Isn't
- The local commute is much more oppressive than in most cities - 53 percent more oppressive than average, leaving less time to exercise and prepare healthy meals. Commuter stress may also raise levels of cortisol, a hormone linked to weight gain and other health problems.
- Binge drinking is more common here than most other places. In a national survey 20 percent of residents admitted they'd had five or more drinks at a sitting over the past 30 days. The average among cities in our survey is 14.74 percent.
- Prefer to lift weights 12 ounces at a time? You'll fit in better in San Francisco than in most places. Per capita, there are 97 percent more bars here than the national average in our survey.
- Fast food, widely implicated as a contributor to obesity, is more common in San Francisco than most places in our survey. In a per capita comparison there are 59 percent more fast-food joints here than average.
- Although many other states participate in a CDC-sponsored program to reduce obesity and other chronic diseases, California doesn't.
- Feel like hitting the public pool for a morning swim? Good luck finding an open lane. San Francisco has one pool for every 82,671 residents - 72 percent more crowded than average in our survey.
- Very few residents of San Francisco play football - they're 42 percent less likely to play than average, the 4th lowest rate in our survey.
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