Our neighbour across the hills, the state of Vemont--aka, "the Green Mountain State"--harbours the most helathy city in all the US....Burlington, Vermont, in the state's "northeast kingdom," located on the northern shores of Lake Champlain, has a population that is a staggeringly 92 % healthy.

According to various news reports, "It's also among the best in exercise and among the lowest in obesity, diabetes and other measures of ill health, according to a recent report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

This New England city of 40,000, on the shores of Lake Champlain, is in some ways similar to the unhealthiest city — Huntington, W.Va. Both are out-of-the-way college towns with populations that are overwhelmingly white people of English, German or Irish ancestry".
Burlington is younger, with an average age of 37, compared to 40 in Huntington, according to the Census Bureau.

_Burlington is better off financially, with 8 percent living at the federal poverty level, compared to 19 percent in Huntington.

_It's much more educated, with nearly 40 percent of area residents having at least a college bachelor's degree. Only 15 percent in the Huntington area do.

The cultures are significantly different, too. Bicycling, hiking, skiing and other exercises are common in Burlington. Neighborhood groups commonly focus on improving parks, working in community gardens and repairing and improving sidewalks.

"There's this norm of a lot of activity," said Chris Finley, Vermont's deputy health commissioner, who works in Burlington.

Grass-fed beef is offered in finer restaurants, vegan options are plentiful, and the lone downtown supermarket is run by a co-op successful in selling bulk rice and other healthy choices to low-income residents.