A report released by Gallup says people in the Quad Cities have lower overall wellness, more stress and more smokers than other Iowans but they rank better than most Illinois communities.
The latest Gallup Well-Being index lists the most obese community in the country as Huntington-Ashland, located where West Virginia, Kentucky and Ohio meet. The least obese community continues to be Boulder, Colorado.
Of the five Illinois metro areas in the report, the Quad Cities metro area had the lowest percentage of obese people.
The Quad Cities also had the highest percentage of the population getting frequent exercise and eating produce.
At 62.9%, the Quad Cities ranked second highest in Illinois for the percentage of residents who reported experiencing a lot of stress the previous day. Only Peoria, with 63.2%, ranked higher for stress.
The Quad Cities had the second-highest percentage of Illinois residents who smoke but still scored second-highest in overall wellness in Illinois with a wellness score of 66.6. Compare that to Provo-Orem, Utah which had the highest overall wellness score of 71.4, and Huntington-Ashland scored lowest at 59.5.
The most obese of the five Illinois communities in the survey was Rockford, where 33% are reportedly obese. Rockford also ranked highest for percentage who are smokers (26.5%), lowest for getting frequent exercise (49.6%) and scored lowest for overall well-being (63.2).
QC compared to Iowa
Four Iowa communities were ranked in the report. The Quad Cities has lowest overall wellness score compared to the Des Moines, Cedar Rapids and Council Bluffs metro areas.
The Quad Cities also has the highest percentage of residents reporting daily stress and the highest percentage of smokers compared to the other Iowa communities.
Despite that, the QC area also has the lowest obesity rate, highest percentage of residents who eat produce and is only one-tenth of a percentage point away from the highest percentage reporting frequent exercise compared to those other Iowa communities.
Des Moines ranked highest with an overall wellness score of 69.1.
