Youngest Led by San Francisco, Salt Lake City, San Diego
Oldest Cities: Louisville, Greensboro, Tampa

ATLANTA, GA, May 15, 2013 – Is your city keeping you young or making you old before your time? Sharecare analyzed health data for America’s largest metropolitan areas generated by its patented RealAge Test to determine the Top 10 Youngest & Oldest Cities in America. San Francisco, Salt Lake City and San Diego hold the top three youngest spots in 2013. The oldest city in the U.S.? Louisville, KY. Some cities seem to be drinking from the Fountain of Youth, with Seattle and Hartford joining the 10 Youngest for the first time. Five cities–Tampa, New Orleans, Jacksonville, Las Vegas and St. Louis—win the dubious honor of joining the 10 Oldest.

Here are the Top 10 Youngest and Oldest Cities in America 2013, according to Sharecare:

(Key: Indicate ranking change from 2012)

YOUNGEST Cities ’13

  1. San Francisco
  2. Salt Lake City
  3. San Diego
  4. Boston +3
  5. Denver
  6. Minneapolis -3
  7. Washington, DC +2
  8. Seattle +6
  9. Hartford +3
  10. Los Angeles, CA

OLDEST Cities ’13

  1. Louisville -1
  2. Greensboro -4
  3. Tampa -8
  4. Oklahoma City
  5. New Orleans -11
  6. Jacksonville -11
  7. Greenville -1
  8. Las Vegas -7
  9. Memphis +6
  10. St. Louis -3

To determine the rankings of America’s 50 largest metropolitan areas, Sharecare analyzed health data generated by a random sample of 250,000 people who have taken its landmark online assessment, the patented RealAge® Test, in the past year. The RealAge Test uses a powerful algorithm based on the latest scientific studies (more than 500) to analyze your lifestyle, genetics and medical history to calculate your “RealAge”—the age your body thinks it is.

This year, in addition to the overall ranking based on the full RealAge® Test, 28 individual factors that particularly influence “RealAge” were analyzed and ranked for each city including cholesterol, smoking, marital status, stress, employment, and alcohol use. Data was also weighted to reflect age and gender distribution of the U.S. to eliminate the possibility of bias.

What contributes to making a person’s RealAge younger? Among the most important factors, according to Sharecare Chief Medical Officer and co-creator of the RealAge Test® Keith Roach, MD, whose RealAge is 7.2 years younger: good blood pressure (up to 10 years); excellent cholesterol levels (up to 5 years); moderate drinking (up to 7.7 years for woman, 3.6 for men); and a person’s ability to control diabetes if he/she has it (up to 7 years). Other factors include how much red meat a person eats, health insurance, and job status, as well as sleeping and smoking habits, and even personal friendships.

Says Cleveland Clinic Chief Wellness Officer and founder of the RealAge Test®, Mike Roizen, MD, “Each city ranking is more than just a number. It’s a report card of the healthy lifestyles, or lack of them, in that metro area. The truth is that 80% of aging can be reduced by habits alone. You, with the right habits, have the power to control your own aging. That’s the point we need to hit home.”

About Sharecare

Sharecare is a health and wellness social engagement platform that helps people to live healthier lives by connecting them to personalized resources including high-quality information from national experts, interactive tools and local healthcare providers. The power behind the site is its groundbreaking and popular, scientifically-based health risk assessment, the RealAge® Test, taken by more than 30 million people since its inception in 1998, and a unique, social Q&A format that provides the collective wisdom of America’s top experts—greatly simplifying the search for health information. Created by Jeff Arnold and Dr. Mehmet Oz in partnership with Harpo Productions, Sony Pictures Television and Discovery Communications, Sharecare allows people to ask, learn and act upon questions of health and wellness, creating an active community where knowledge is shared and put into practice—simply said, sharing care. Launched in 2010, Sharecare is based in Atlanta, GA.

Contact:

For interviews:
Karen Mazzotta
Sharecare
(631) 549-1580
karen@mazzotta.com