Traveling this holiday season? You'll probably be spending some time in the airport, battling long lines, grumpy fellow passengers, unhealthy food options and -- worst of all -- icky airport bathrooms. Shudder.

Health.com recently rated the airports in America and came up with a list of the healthiest airports in the nation, based on things like healthy food options, cleanliness and convenient services that help take the stress out of travel. Here are the top five picks:

• Phoenix Sky Harbour International
• Baltimore/Washington International
• Chicago O'Hare International
• Detroit Metropolitan
• Denver International

Check out the rest of the list here -- how does your city's airport stack up?

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The American College of Sports Medicine has tallied the statistics to rank 15 of America's largest metropolitan cities. Which cities were deemed the fittest? Which fell at the bottom, and why?

The goal of the fitness index is to give a quick glimpse of the health status of America's metropolitan areas. Ultimately the ACSM hopes to help cities achieve a higher level of physical activity and healthy eating habits. The reports about each city include strategies for improvement. The top five cities were:

• San Francisco, CA
• Seattle, WA
• Boston, MA
• Washington D.C.
• Atlanta, GA

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Using factors such as stress levels, cardiovascular mortality, high blood pressure, smoking, and the number of people who commute by foot/bike instead of car, the American Heart Association ranked the best cities/metropolitan areas for women's heart health. Did your city make the list?

• Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Minnesota
• Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, District of Columbia
• Denver-Aurora, Colorado
• Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Massachusetts
• Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Washington
• Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, Oregon
• San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, California
• Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, California
• Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Arizona.
  
  

Nashville, St. Louis, and Detroit metropolitan areas were ranked as the three most unhealthy cities for women. Want to see more? Read Chris' post about the 20 healthiest US cities.

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It's that time of year again. The first 2008 case of West Nile virus has been reported. A Phoenix-area man in his 60s is said to have contracted the virus; he's been released from the hospital and is recovering.

As spring continues to spring forth around the country, mosquitoes will be out and about. Here's a quick refresher course on protecting yourself from contracting the West Nile virus:

• Use insect repellent when outdoors.
• Eliminate any areas of standing water (birdbaths, kid-sized pools, bases of flower pots, etc) around your home.
• Check for clogged rain gutters and clean them out.
• Install window and door screens and repair any holes or loose spots in existing screens.

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Gotta love top 10 lists, right? Even if they're on gross topics, like which American city could fill an Olympic sized swimming pool with sweat in less than three hours? Well here's a list that couldn't be more appropriate for the height of summer: the top 10 sweatiest cities in America (and yes, #1 can fill the pool -- yuck!).

1) Phoenix, AZ
2) Las Vegas, NV
3) Tucson, AZ
4) Dallas, TX
5) Corpus Christi, TX
6) San Antonio, TX
7) Austin, TX
8) Shreveport, LA
9) Houston, TX
10) Waco, TX

An Arizona city may have the #1 spot, but looking at this list Texas is the sweatiest state by far!



Via Gadling

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