Exeter is England’s most health-conscious city

A study by Forbes Advisor, the financial guidance and price comparison platform, compared 55 cities in England to find out which are the most health-conscious. Exeter ranked at the top, followed by York, Bristol, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Preston and London. 

Exeter’s top spot was secured thanks to its high healthy eating index (111.6) and a large proportion of regular walkers (52.3%).

Additionally, its 17 gyms per 100k residents, whose average price is joint third lowest with Peterborough at £25 per month, makes Exeter a great place for those hoping to hit the weights this year. 

York closely trails Exeter in second place, partly due to having the fewest smokers in England overall, giving it a smoking index score of 121.6. York’s residents are also frequent cyclists, with 22.2% of residents cycling at least once a week. 

York also has the third lowest rate of overweight adults in the country (54.4%), sitting just behind Oxford (53.8%) and Cambridge (43.4%). At the other end of the spectrum, Kingston upon Hull (71.5%) ranks bottom, closely followed by Sunderland (69.2%) and Peterborough (68.3%).

Unsurprisingly, London has the highest number of gyms at 1,165, but its size and population density give the capital a relatively low number of gyms per 100k (13), ranking 19th in the country. Preston (36) has the most gyms per 100k people, followed by Manchester (26), Nottingham (25) and Liverpool (21).

When it comes to exercise outside of the gym, Norwich (55.9%), Oxford (52.4%) and Exeter (52.3%) residents are most likely to walk at least three times a week, while almost half (49.8%) of Cambridge residents cycle at least once a week. In fact, Cambridge (90.83) ranks third for the quality of its parks (90.83/100) after Milton Keynes (93.75) and Colchester (91.67).

In contrast, Bradford and Birmingham sit in the bottom three in both the cycling and walking categories, with only 4.8% and 5.9% of their respective populations cycling once a week and only 33.7% and 34.2% of residents walking three times or more a week. 

Overall, Southend-on-Sea and Sunderland are England’s least health-conscious cities. Southend has the lowest number of gyms per 100k people at just 6, and its gyms are, on average, the most expensive in England at £45.33 per month. 

Southend’s ranking is also damaged by its park quality, which is ranked the lowest in the country (31.25). 

At the bottom of the overall table, Sunderland’s rate of overweight adults (69.2%) is second only to Hull at 71.5%, and its poor scoring in other categories such as the proportion of active walkers (39.6%) keeps it at the bottom of the total scoreboard.

Source: Forbes Advisor

Kevin Pratt, life insurance expert at Forbes Advisor, said: “Many of us across the country will have New Year resolutions concerned with getting fit and generally living a healthier lifestyle. But it is interesting to see how different cities rank in terms of the overall health and wellbeing of their populations.

“Ready access to affordable gyms and plenty of parks and green spaces can help, as can a local culture of walking and cycling. Healthy eating habits also contribute, which is why Exeter scored so well in our survey.

“Regardless of where we live, it’s worth remembering that small changes to our fitness and diet regimes can make a huge difference to our health over the long term.”