Saskatoon Clinches Top Spot in Health Rankings

OTTAWA, Dec. 13, 2016 /CNW/ - A recent report by The Conference Board of Canada that compares the health performance of 10 Canadian cities finds that Saskatoon is the healthiest in Canada, with the metro area placing first in the rankings.

"Saskatoon ranks 1^st overall in the Conference Board's City Health Monitor.  The city received an "A" grade in population health and life satisfaction, and performed well in the rest of the categories we examined," said Louis Thériault, Vice-President, Public Policy.

Highlights

• Saskatoon finishes 1^st in the city health rankings, placing ahead of Calgary and Winnipeg. All three of these metro areas score an "A" grade.
• Saskatoon places 1^st in the life satisfaction category as residents report feeling very healthy and satisfied with life, as well as having a sense of community belonging.
• Montréal is the only city to receive an overall "D" grade for city health.

The City Health Monitor examines and benchmarks the physical and socio-economic health of 10 metropolitan areas in Canada. Each metro area receives a grade based on their performance on 24 indicators, grouped into four categories: life satisfaction; population health; healthy lifestyle; and access to health care services.

Saskatoon's strength lies in its first-place ranking in the life satisfaction category. Finishing with a top ranking on three of six indicators, Saskatoon residents report feeling the most satisfied with life in general, a strong sense of belonging to the local community, feeling healthier than selected Canadian metro areas.

On population health, Saskatoon places 2^nd behind Vancouver. Despite Saskatoon earning top spot with low reported levels of hypertension, middle tier rankings on four indicators prevent the metro area from achieving top spot in this category.  

In terms of healthy lifestyle, Saskatoon receives a "B" grade with top marks with the lowest smoking rate among comparator metro areas. However, a relatively high obesity rate and low fruit and vegetable consumption places Saskatoon in 4^th position in this category.

Saskatoon's lowest grade is a "C" in the access to health care category. This is mainly due to a low number of specialists per 100,000 population and a middle-of-the-pack ranking on the number of relative hospital beds available.

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SOURCE Conference Board of Canada

For further information: Yvonne Squires, Media Relations, The Conference Board of Canada, Tel.: [phone] ext. 221, E-mail: [e-mail]; Juline Ranger, Director of Communications, The Conference Board of Canada, Tel.: [phone] ext. 431, E-mail: [e-mail]

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