New version of Toledo Talk

Men's Health mag ranks Toledo near the bottom - Found this at Glass City Jungle. "Our sixth annual ranking of the Best & Worst Cities for Men ... by crunching the numbers in 24 categories, including life-and-death data on cancer, heart disease, and stroke. We also looked at lifestyle issues, such as annual income and daily commute, crime rates and college graduation rates. Lastly, we ran a sweat check, looking at how often, how long, and how intensely men exercise."

The 10 Best

1. San Jose, CA
2. Honolulu, HI
3. Madison, WI
4. San Diego, CA
5. Fremont, CA
6. San Francisco, CA
7. Anchorage, AK
8. Raleigh, NC
9. Manchester, NH
10. Lincoln, NE


The 10 Worst

91. Little Rock, AR
92. Oklahoma, OK
93. Detroit, MI
94. St. Louis, MO
95. Corpus Christi, TX
96. Tulsa, OK
97. Louisville, KY
98. Toledo, OH
99. Charleston, WV
100. Memphis, TN


Other Men's Health magazine mentions at Toledo Talk:

October 17, 2003 posting - "Apparently the editors of the popular men's fitness magazine [Men's Health] feel that Toledo is among the worst cities in the country when it comes to men's health. In its third annual ranking, the magazine ranked Toledo 94th out of 101 major U.S. cities. Toledo received an "F" in each of three categories: fitness, quality of life, and health."


In his February 2004 state-of-the-city speech, Mayor Jack Ford said, "Our public utilities department is on the cutting edge. Men's Health Magazine recently gave Toledo's water an "A" rating, one of only 12 in the nation and the only city in Ohio to achieve this highest rating possible. Again, we exceeded environmental standards for pure and healthy water."


June 17, 2004 posting - "Men's Health magazine used the data for a recently released study that determined the "relative industrial toxicity of the 101 largest cities in the United States." Toledo scored a C+."


January 21, 2005 posting - " "[Fort Wayne] has been dubbed the dumbest town in all the land by Men's Health magazine." In the current issue, the mag ranked 101 cities based on the number of bachelor's degrees per capita, the number of universities, SAT scores and more. The smartest: Minneapolis, Boston, Denver, St. Paul, Seattle and San Francisco. The dumbest: Fort Wayne, Corpus Christi, Laredo, El Paso, Las Vegas, and Newark. Toledo is ranked 85. Columbus is Ohio's "smartest" city at 19. Cincy, Akron, and Cleveland are "smarter" than Toledo. Smartest Michigan city is Grand Rapids at 45. Detroit is ranked 78."

"In October [2004], Men's Health ranked the 101 best cities for men to live in. In that ranking, Fort Wayne was 73 and Toledo 65."


August 15, 2006 posting - "A study conducted by Men's Health magazine has found that Orlando, Fla., ranks No. 1 on a list of the angriest cities in the nation. Toledo comes in at number 59 on the list."
posted by jr to health at 6:49 P.M. EST     (7 Comments)

Comments ...

"...by crunching the numbers in 24 categories, including life-and-death data on cancer, heart disease, and stroke. We also looked at lifestyle issues, such as annual income and daily commute, crime rates and college graduation rates. Lastly, we ran a sweat check, looking at how often, how long, and how intensely men exercise."

College graduation rates as well as exercise would probably outweigh any of the good rankings we had in the other categories.
posted by MaggieThurber at 09:38 P.M. EST on Tue Feb 06, 2007     #

College graduation rates as well as exercise would probably outweigh any of the good rankings we had in the other categories.

True - we don't have a very high proportion of the population with a bachelor's degree or higher. Anyone know the exact percentage?

And we are in the middle of the nation's Fat Belt. That probably doesn't help much.
posted by mom2 at 12:14 A.M. EST on Wed Feb 07, 2007     #

Here's Toledo's info at City-Data.com that's based upon the 2000 census.

Population (year 2000): 313,619. Estimated population in July 2005: 301,285 (-3.9% change)
Males: 150,204 (47.9%), Females: 163,415 (52.1%)

Median resident age: 33.2 years
Median household income: $32,546 (year 2000)
Median house value: $75,300 (year 2000)

Races in Toledo:
* White Non-Hispanic (67.8%)
* Black (23.5%)
* Hispanic (5.5%)
* Two or more races (2.6%)
* Other race (2.3%)
* American Indian (0.9%)

Ancestries: German (23.4%), Irish (10.8%), Polish (10.1%), English (6.0%), French (4.6%), United States (3.9%).

For population 25 years and over in Toledo
* High school or higher: 79.7%
* Bachelor's degree or higher: 16.8%
* Graduate or professional degree: 5.4%
* Unemployed: 7.7%
* Mean travel time to work: 20.0 minutes

For population 15 years and over in Toledo city
* Never married: 33.0%
* Now married: 43.9%
* Separated: 2.0%
* Widowed: 7.8%
* Divorced: 13.3%

3.0% Foreign born (1.2% Asia, 0.7% Latin America, 0.6% Europe).

Population change in the 1990s: -19,229 (-5.8%).

Toledo compared to Ohio state average:
* Median house value below state average.
* Black race population percentage significantly above state average.
* Foreign-born population percentage significantly below state average.
* Percentage of population with a bachelor's degree or higher below state average.


Some other facts on Toledo's city-data.com page:

Local government employment and payroll (March 2002)
* Full-time employees : 2999
* Monthly full-time payroll : $11,720,938
* Average yearly full-time wage : $46,899


Birthplace of: Brad Hennessey - 2005 Major League Baseball player (San Francisco Giants, born: Feb 7, 1980), Bryan Robinson - 2005 NFL player (Cincinnati Bengals, born: Jun 22, 1974), Bryan Smolinski - NHL player (Ottawa Senators, born: Dec 27, 1971), Doug Mientkiewicz - 2005 Major League Baseball player (New York Mets, born: Jun 19, 1974), Gloria Steinem - (born 1935), feminist, Jim Jackson - NBA player (Phoenix Suns, born: Oct 14, 1970), Joe Iorio - 2005 NFL player (Pittsburgh Steelers, born: Jul 7, 1981), Nate Bolling - 2005 NFL player (Miami Dolphins, born: Jan 10, 1979), Nate Washington - 2005 NFL player (Pittsburgh Steelers, born: Aug 28, 1983), P. J. O'Rourke - (born 1947), comic writer.
posted by jr at 01:18 A.M. EST on Wed Feb 07, 2007     #

Thats interesting. I actually received a voice mail from someone at that magazine wanting to interview me. But it was my day off and I didn't get the message in time.

Sorry Toledo, maybe my responses could have changed their ranking.
posted by ToledoLatina at 07:16 A.M. EST on Wed Feb 07, 2007     #

From www.census.org Toledo specific data:

High school graduates, percent of persons age 25+, 2000: 79.7%

Bachelor's degree or higher, pct of persons age 25+, 2000: 16.8%

Bachelor's stats for the state are 21.1% and for the nation, 24.4%

(btw - this is a really interesting site - you can get the date by city, county, state...I've used it often)
posted by MaggieThurber at 08:44 A.M. EST on Wed Feb 07, 2007     #

sorry - data...not date. Not enough coffee yet, I guess...
posted by MaggieThurber at 08:46 A.M. EST on Wed Feb 07, 2007     #

I thought I would pass along information about a few new initiatives I know about aimed at making Toledoans healthier:

* The Area Office on Aging is promoting health aging and disease prevention through exercise by presenting the 50+ Sports Classic. The 50+ Sports Classic includes track and field events, volleyball, basketball, softball, golf, swimming, table tennis, bowling, tennis and various other activities in the age brackets of 50-54; 55-59; 60-64; 65-69; 70-74; 75-79; 80-84; 85-89; 90+. People who are interested in participating in the 50+ Sports Classic may register by calling the Area Office on Aging at (800) 472-7277 or by going to www.areaofficeonaging.com.

* The Healthy U Program is a six-week workshop designed to teach practical skills for living a healthier life with an ongoing health condition such as heart conditions, lung disease, stroke, arthritis, diabetes, asthma, emphysema, MS, high blood pressure or anyone else who thinks they may benefit from participating in the program). Participants learn relaxation techniques, how to exercise appropriately, how to cope with frustration, fatigue and pain, how to manage symptoms, how to eat well, how to use medications appropriately, how to communicate effectively with family, friends and health professionals, how to set weekly goals and how to effectively problem-solve. To register or for more information, you can contact the Area Office on Aging at (800) 472-7277
posted by jmoor7 at 03:19 P.M. EST on Fri Mar 16, 2007     #

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