So Manhattan is the skinniest county in New York. This should of course come as no surprise. But here’s the punchline:

Manhattan’s wiry and willowy were eager on Wednesday to dissect how they brought home such an honor. First and foremost, they said, Manhattan is a place where people walk. Even subway riders need to climb stairs. Storefront yoga studios, parks and pedestrian-friendly streets make working out relatively easy.

If you design an environment where health is easy, that population will, as a whole, be healthier than places where health is hard, as in, the entire rest of the United States. That, and, there’s a big component of vanity in health. And we’re surely some of the vainest people in the world, with plenty of businesses around catering to that. It’s not that complicated. You’ve got to fight capitalism with capitalism. 

photo by The Sartorialist