Healthy Lifestyle Report 2023
Maintaining good health and a healthy lifestyle has become a big area of focus for many in recent years. So, with this in mind, the team here at Lenstore have revisited our Healthy Lifestyle Cities Report, refreshing the findings for a 2023 edition – you can find the 2022 Healthy Lifestyle Report here, and the 2021 report here.
This year, the research has been expanded to include 10 more cities, including more places in the UK.
Our experts compared health-related data points for 58 major cities from across the globe, awarding points to each in order to form the rankings.
The Healthy Living factors we compared included:
- Adult obesity levels by country in 2023 -(avg. of all cities compared in the study is 23.99%)
- Avg. life expectancy by country (avg. is 80.62)
- Annual sunshine hours (avg. Is 2041.75)
- Air Quality (avg. is 54.21)
- Water Quality - (avg. is 58.21)
- No. of "Nature and Parks” listed on TripAdvisor (avg. is 0.04)
- No. of "Outdoor Activities" listed on TripAdvisor (avg. is 0.25)
- Happiness score by country (avg. is 48.3)
- Avg. hours worked annually by country (avg. is 1746)
- Avg. work week by country (avg. is 37)
- Cost of a 1.5L bottle of water (GBP) (avg. is £0.97)
- Cost of an adult monthly gym membership (GBP) (avg. is £40.01)
Read on to find out how your city did, and who took the top spot this year...
1. Amsterdam
The Dutch capital was awarded an overall score of 533 points out of a possible 684, climbing four places in 2023 – it scored fifth place in the previous 2022 rankings.
The city secured the number one spot due the average life expectancy of its residents (82.78 years), its high air quality (76.33) and water quality (78.70) levels, and the number of parks and green space available within the city per capita (0.50 per 10,000 residents).
Additionally, the city also scored highly thanks to the number of outdoor activities on offer (0.52 per 10,000 residents), the low number of average hours worked annually by employees within the city (1,430), and a noticeably shorter average working week (30 hours) compared to many of the other cities compared within the rankings.
- Sunshine Hours: 1,662
- Cost of a monthly gym membership: £30.99
- Happiness levels: 5.5 / 10
- Avg. hours worked in a year: 1,430
2. Vienna
The Austrian city of Vienna, which had ranked at number one in the 2022 Lifestyle Report, followed closely behind (78%), marginally missing out on the top spot within this index by a single point (532).
Vienna’s low obesity rates (20.1%), higher-than-average life expectancy (82.05 years), good number of outdoor activities on offer (0.42 per 10,000 residents), high air quality (84.59), and the best water quality rating (91.35) of all the cities featured the study, all added to Vienna's number two placement.
The cost of a 1.5 litre bottle of water in Vienna was also one of the lowest on the list (£0.49), and the average cost of an adult monthly gym membership was also on the lower end (£24.66).
- Sunshine Hours: 1,884
- Cost of a monthly gym membership: £24.66
- Happiness levels: 4 / 10
- Avg. hours worked in a year: 1,613
3. Geneva
Jumping up seven places from the 2022 ranking, this small Swiss city came third in this year’s rankings. Surrounded by the Alps and Jura mountains, Geneva gained points for having a high life expectancy (84.25), as well as good water quality (81.88) and air quality (71.33).
Switzerland also boasts the highest happiness score (60.1) and ranked below average on obesity levels (19.5%) and number of hours in an average work week (35).
- Sunshine Hours: 1,887
- Cost of a monthly gym membership: £66.51
- Happiness levels: 6 / 10
- Avg. hours worked in a year: 1,590
4. Helsinki
Moving up two spots from last year’s rankings, residents in the Finnish capital can enjoy the best air quality (90/100) out of all cities that were compared.
Helsinki also has the second-best water quality of all cities compared in the study (86/100), which offsets the comparatively high price for a 1.5 bottle of water (1.43GBP).
It is also a relatively cheap place to get a gym membership (average cost of £29 per month).
- Sunshine Hours: 1,858
- Cost of a monthly gym membership: £29.01
- Happiness levels: 5.1 / 10
- Avg. hours worked in a year: 1,659
5. Stockholm
The second Scandinavian city featured in this year’s ranking impressed thanks to its high water (86/100) and air (84/100) quality.
Moving up three places from last year’s Healthy Cities table, the Swedish capital also ranked well for its low obesity levels (20.6%) and lower-than-average working hours per year.
- Sunshine Hours: 1,803
- Cost of a monthly gym membership: £36.34
- Happiness levels: 5.1 / 10
- Avg. hours worked in a year: 1,609
6. Zurich
Zurich is a newcomer in the top 10 Healthy Cities table. Its strong finish was largely driven by the performance of Switzerland as a whole, with its high average life expectancy (84.25) and happiness score (60/100). The city even outperformed Geneva on air quality (82/100) and water quality (85/100).
However, it also got less sunlight hours a year than its local competitor (1,566) and is more expensive when it comes to gym memberships. In fact, the £85 it costs on average to train in a Zurich gym per month puts it in the second most expensive place in this category, only beaten by New York (£91).
- Sunshine Hours: 1,566
- Cost of a monthly gym membership: £84.61
- Happiness levels: 6 / 10
- Avg. hours worked in a year: 1,590
7. Frankfurt
Frankfurt secured 7th place in the rankings, however, the German business hub is down 3 places compared to last year’s study.
The city ranks well for water quality (77/100) and is among the lowest when it comes to average hours worked annually (1354).
However, it was held back due to its comparatively lower number of outdoor activities per 10,000 residents (0.18) and number of parks per 10,000 residents (0.03).
- Sunshine Hours: 1,662
- Cost of a monthly gym membership: £40.39
- Happiness levels: 5.3 / 10
- Avg. hours worked in a year: 1,354
8. Copenhagen
Copenhagen went from ranking third in last year’s report, to number eight in 2023. However, the city retains a strong presence within the top 10 healthy cities on the list.
While the Danish capital has good water (83/100) and air quality (82/100), it scored lower on the number of outdoor activities (0.13) per 10,000 residents. Denmark’s happiness score also slipped below average (45/100) this year.
- Sunshine Hours: 1,912
- Cost of a monthly gym membership: £35.53
- Happiness levels: 4.5 / 10
- Avg. hours worked in a year: 1,400
9. Plymouth
Plymouth was revealed to be the highest scoring UK city in Lenstore’s 2023 Healthy Lifestyle Report (65%).
Overall, the city scored a total of 442 points out of a possible 684, owing to the city’s high air (73.81) and water quality (76.39), a high happiness score (56 out of a possible 100), and the high average life expectancy of its residents (81.77 years).
The city also boasted the highest number of average annual sunshine hours of all the UK cities compared as part of the study (1732).
- Sunshine Hours: 1,732
- Cost of a monthly gym membership: £36.71
- Happiness levels: 5.6 / 10
- Avg. hours worked in a year: 1,670
10. Norwich
Norwich claimed the title of the UK’s second highest scoring city in Lenstore’s 2023 Healthy Lifestyle Report (63%).
Overall, the city scored a total of 430 points out of a possible 684, coming in just 12 points behind Plymouth (442 points).
The city claimed its strong place on the list thanks to the long average life expectancy of its residents (81.77 years), high air (73.81) and water quality (76.39), a strong happiness score (56 out of a possible 100).
- Sunshine Hours: 1,611
- Cost of a monthly gym membership: £36.38
- Happiness levels: 5.6 / 10
- Avg. hours worked in a year: 1,670
Which cities were the worst performers for 2023?
Scoring just 181.5 points out of a possible 684, Mexico City was found to be the worst performing city within the 2023 Healthy Living Index, down four places since 2022.
The Mexican capital had a low average life expectancy age (75.41 years), very low air quality (18.72), and low water quality (32.42).
Those employed within the city also work the highest average number of hours annually of all the 58 cities compared as part of the study (2,255).
The city was also found to have a high average adult monthly gym membership (£40.95), a low number of parks and green space available per capita (0.003 per 10,000 residents), and a similarly low number of outdoor activities on offer (0.02 per 10,000 residents).~
Bottom 10 Cities in Lenstore’s 2023 Healthy Living Report
|
Rank |
City |
Percentage Score |
|
1 (58th place) |
Mexico City |
27% |
|
2 (57th place |
New York |
30% |
|
3 (56th place) |
Shanghai |
31% |
|
4 (55th place) |
Chicago |
32% |
|
5 (54th place) |
Los Angeles |
36% |
|
6 (53rd place) |
Istanbul |
36% |
|
7 (52nd place) |
Johannesburg |
37% |
|
8 (51st place) |
Hong Kong |
38% |
|
9 (50th place) |
Beijing |
39% |
|
10 (49th place) |
Taipei |
40% |
Despite the city’s overall low score, Mexico City did boast a very high number of average annual sunshine hours (2,555), and a fairly positive overall happiness score (54.3 out of a possible 100).
Other cities that didn’t score as well included New York in the USA (30%/57th place), Shanghai in China (31%/56th), Chicago in the USA (32%/55th) and Los Angeles in the USA (36%/54th).
Of the six US cities compare as part of the Healthy Lifestyle Report, three ranked at the very bottom of the list, with no major US cities placing within the top 20.
So, how did the other UK cities do?
Sheffield (11th place overall / 3rd UK place)
Sheffield secured 11th place overall (with a score of 63%), and it came third out of all major UK cities compared within the study.
Overall, the Northern city scored a total of 427.5 points out of a possible 684, coming in just 14.5 points behind the UK’s leading city, Plymouth (442 points) which came in at 9th place on the global list.
The city claimed its strong place on the list thanks to a long average life expectancy (81.77 years), high water quality (73.68), the number of parks and green space available within the city per capita (0.73 per 10,000 residents), and the number of outdoor activities on offer (0.50 per 10,000 residents
Cardiff (12th place overall / 4th UK place)
Cardiff secured 12th place overall (with a score of 62%) and came fourth in the UK.
Overall, the Welsh capital scored a total of 426 points out of a possible 684, coming in 16 points behind Plymouth (442 points).
The city of Cardiff claimed its strong place on the list thanks to a long average life expectancy (81.77 years), a happiness score of 56 (out of a possible 100), a low adult monthly gym membership cost (£28.22), as well as high air (69.23) and water quality (80.43).
Belfast (15th place overall / 5th UK place)
The city of Belfast secured 15th place overall (with a score of 60%) and came in fifth in the UK.
Overall, the Northern Irish capital scored a total of 412 points out of a possible 684, coming in 30 points behind Plymouth (442 points).
The city of Belfast had a long average life expectancy (81.77 years), high air (76.88) and water quality (79.17), and a decent happiness score of 56 (out of a possible 100).
Hull (16th place overall / 6th UK place)
The city of Hull secured 16th place overall (with a score of 59%) and came sixth for the UK.
Overall, the city scored a total of 406.5 points out of a possible 684, coming in 35.5 points behind Plymouth (442 points).
Hull had a long average life expectancy (81.77 years), low average adult monthly gym membership costs (£25.56), and 1,559 average annual sunshine hours.
Liverpool (17th place overall / 7th UK place)
The city of Liverpool secured 17th place overall (59%), and seventh in the UK.
Overall, the city scored a total of 400.5 points out of a possible 684, coming in 41.5 points behind Plymouth (434 points).
The city of Liverpool has a long average life expectancy (81.77 years), low average adult monthly gym membership costs (£26.62), a good number of outdoor activities available within the city per capita (0.76 per 10,000 residents), and a high air (71.77) and water quality (80.77).
|
UK Rank |
UK City |
Overall Rank |
Percentage Score |
|
1 |
Plymouth |
9 |
65% |
|
2 |
Norwich |
10 |
63% |
|
3 |
Sheffield |
11 |
63% |
|
4 |
Cardiff |
12 |
62% |
|
5 |
Belfast |
15 |
60% |
|
6 |
Hull |
16 |
59% |
|
7 |
Liverpool |
17 |
59% |
|
8 |
Glasgow |
20 |
57% |
|
9 |
Newcastle |
24 |
56% |
|
10 |
Bristol |
29 |
54% |
|
11 |
Southampton |
30 |
54% |
|
12 |
Edinburgh |
32 |
51% |
|
13 |
London |
36 |
46% |
|
14 |
Birmingham |
42 |
43% |
|
15 (of 15) |
Manchester |
43 |
42% |
Manchester (43rd place overall / 15th UK place – bottom of the table)
Manchester was discovered to be the UK’s worst performing city in the Lenstore 2023 Healthy Lifestyle Report, securing 43rd place within the rankings (with a score of 42%) and ranking alongside Jakarta and Washington DC (both 41%).
The Northern city ranked 34 places behind the UK’s leading city, Plymouth (434 points), which came in at 9th place on the list, and scored just 277.5 points out of a possible 684.
Manchester’s low score was awarded to the city due the low number of parks and green space available within the city per capita (0.01 per 10,000 residents), the low number of outdoor activities available within the city per capita (0.02 per 10,000 residents), alongside the city’s only moderate air (49.55) and water quality (37.5).
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Manchester also scored a low number of points for the average annual sunshine hours within the city (1,385).
That said, Manchester did score highly on aspects such as average cost of an adult monthly gym membership (£29.52) and long average life expectancy of residents (81.77 years).
London (36th place overall / 13th UK place)
Although not last on our list, London scored just 309.5 points out of a possible 684 (45%), securing itself a place at number 35 within the rankings. The UK’s capital ranked 25 places behind the UK’s leading city, Plymouth (434 points).
Despite scoring highly on aspects such as average life expectancy of residents (81.77 years) and a happiness score of 56 (our of a possible 100), other elements compared as part of the rankings, such as a high average cost of an adult monthly gym membership (£47.89), a small number of parks and green space available within the city per capita (0.03 per 10,000 residents), the low number of outdoor activities available within the city per capita (0.08 per 10,000 residents), as well as low air (37.07) quality, all contributed to London ranking at just 35th place.
Healthy Lifestyle Cities Report 2023 – The Full Index
|
Rank |
City |
Percentage Score |
|
1 |
Amsterdam |
78% |
|
2 |
Vienna |
78% |
|
3 |
Geneva |
72% |
|
4 |
Helsinki |
71% |
|
5 |
Stockholm |
70% |
|
6 |
Zurich |
69% |
|
7 |
Frankfurt |
67% |
|
8 |
Copenhagen |
66% |
|
9 |
Plymouth |
65% |
|
10 |
Norwich |
63% |
|
11 |
Sheffield |
63% |
|
12 |
Cardiff |
62% |
|
13 |
Berlin |
62% |
|
14 |
Madrid |
61% |
|
15 |
Belfast |
60% |
|
16 |
Hull |
59% |
|
17 |
Liverpool |
59% |
|
18 |
Buenos Aires |
58% |
|
19 |
Sydney |
57% |
|
20 |
Glasgow |
57% |
|
21 |
Fukuoka |
57% |
|
22 |
Paris |
57% |
|
23 |
Melbourne |
56% |
|
24 |
Barcelona |
56% |
|
24 |
Newcastle |
56% |
|
26 |
Vancouver |
55% |
|
26 |
Dublin |
55% |
|
28 |
Milan |
55% |
|
29 |
Bristol |
54% |
|
30 |
Southampton |
54% |
|
31 |
Brussels |
52% |
|
32 |
Edinburgh |
51% |
|
33 |
Tel Aviv |
50% |
|
34 |
Tokyo |
49% |
|
35 |
Cairo |
47% |
|
36 |
London |
46% |
|
37 |
Seoul |
45% |
|
38 |
Toronto |
44% |
|
39 |
Mumbai |
44% |
|
40 |
Boston |
44% |
|
41 |
San Francisco |
44% |
|
42 |
Birmingham |
43% |
|
43 |
Manchester |
42% |
|
44 |
Moscow |
42% |
|
45 |
Jakarta |
41% |
|
46 |
Washington DC |
41% |
|
47 |
São Paulo |
41% |
|
48 |
Bangkok |
41% |
|
49 |
Taipei |
40% |
|
50 |
Beijing |
39% |
|
51 |
Hong Kong |
38% |
|
52 |
Johannesburg |
37% |
|
53 |
Istanbul |
36% |
|
54 |
Los Angeles |
36% |
|
55 |
Chicago |
32% |
|
56 |
Shanghai |
31% |
|
57 |
New York |
30% |
|
58 |
Mexico City |
27% |
|
Healthy Lifestyle Factor |
Avg. across all cities compared in the study |
Highest total per category |
Lowest total per category |
|
Obesity Levels (by country in 2023 / 18+) |
23.99% |
44% |
3.9% |
|
Avg. Life Expectancy (by country) |
80.62 |
85.29 |
64.88 |
|
Sunshine Hours (annually) |
2041.75 |
3541.8 |
1277 |
|
Air Quality (1 = low / 100 = high) |
54.21 |
90 |
15.97 |
|
Water Quality (1 = low / 100 = high) |
58.21 |
91.35 |
13.28 |
|
No. of "Nature and Parks" per 10,000 residents |
0.04 |
0.22 |
0.004 |
|
No. of "Outdoor Activities" per 10,000 residents |
0.25 |
2.21 |
0.017 |
|
Happiness Score (by country - 1 = Low / 100 = high) |
48.3 |
60.1 |
34.9 |
|
Avg. Hours Worked Annually (by country) |
1746 |
2255 |
1430 |
|
Avg. Work Week (hours / by country) |
37 |
44 |
30 |
|
Cost of a 1.5L Bottle of Water (GBP) |
£0.97 |
£2.03 |
£0.18 |
|
Cost of an Adult Monthly Gym Membership (GBP) |
£40.01 |
£91.61 |
£16.46 |
Conclusion
At Lenstore, although our primary focus is eye health, we understand the importance of maintaining an all-round healthy lifestyle and the impact this can have on not just our physical health, but crucially, our mental health too.
As such, we were eager to revisit our Healthy Lifestyle Report for 2023, following the interesting data collated in both our 2021 and 2022 studies. We were also keen to widen the scope and examine the data for further major UK cities, and it’s been promising to learn that so many more local cities claimed a place within the top 20 amongst so many major global cities too.
Naturally, there are lots of factors that determine a person’s overall health and wellbeing, and whilst some things are out of our immediate control, there are certainly steps we can all be taking in order to live a happier, healthier life.
Methodology
We collected data across 13 metrics for 58 cities around the world (please see all metrics below). Each of these metrics were awarded a weighted score and these were combined to give each city a total score out of 100. This score was then used to rank the 58 cities to determine which were best for healthy living.
Sources
- Population data - https://worldpopulationreview.com/world-cities
- Adult obesity level percentage by country in 2023 (latest avail.) – https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/obesity-rates-by-country and https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-21441916 - latest data avail for Taiwan is 2013
- Avg. life expectancy by country in 2021 (latest avail.) - https://www.worldometers.info/demographics/life-expectancy/
- Sunshine hours (annual) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_by_sunshine_duration
- and https://www.currentresults.com/Weather/Japan/sunshine-annual-average.php and https://www.betterwhere.com/sunniest-cities-in-the-uk/ and
- https://www.currentresults.com/Weather/United-Kingdom/annual-sunshine.php
- Air Quality (1 = low / 100 = high) - https://www.numbeo.com/pollution/rankings.jsp%20%E2%80%8B
- Water Quality (1 = low / 100 = high) - https://www.numbeo.com/pollution/rankings.jsp%20%E2%80%8B
- No. of "Nature and Parks" listed on TripAdvisor per capita - https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/
- No. of "Outdoor Activities" listed on TripAdvisor per capita - https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/
- Happiness score by country (1 = Low / 100 = high) - https://happyplanetindex.org/countries/
- Avg. hours worked annually by country (latest data avail.) https://ourworldindata.org/working-hours and https://buildremote.co/data/average-work-week-in-egypt/
- Avg. work week in hours by country) - https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/average-work-week-by-country and https://nhglobalpartners.com/countries/taiwan/hiring-employees/working-hours-and-days-2/#:~:text=The%20standard%20working%20hours%20in%20Taiwan%20are%208%20hours,and%2040%20hours%20a%20week.
- And https://buildremote.co/data/average-work-week-in-india and https://tradingeconomics.com/ireland/average-weekly-hours and https://www.globaldata.com/data-insights/macroeconomic/working-hours-per-week-in-hong-kong-2095940 and https://buildremote.co/data/average-work-week-in-china/
- Cost of a 1.5L bottle of water (GBP) - https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/
- Cost of an adult monthly gym membership (GBP) - https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/
