Exeter ranked as the UK's most health-conscious city

A study by Forbes Advisor, the financial guidance and price comparison platform, compared 55 cities in England to find out which are the most health-conscious - and Exeter ranked at the top, followed by York, Bristol, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Preston and London. 

Exeter’s top spot was secured thanks to its high healthy eating index and a large proportion of regular walkers. Additionally, its 17 gyms per 100k residents, whose average price is joint third lowest with Peterborough at £25 per month, makes Exeter a great place for those hoping to hit the weights this year. 

York closely trails Exeter in second place, partly due to having the fewest smokers in England overall. York’s residents are also frequent cyclists, with 22.2% of residents cycling at least once a week. 

York also has the third lowest rate of overweight adults in the country (54.4%), sitting just behind Oxford (53.8%) and Cambridge (43.4%). At the other end of the spectrum, Kingston upon Hull (71.5%) ranks bottom, closely followed by Sunderland (69.2%) and Peterborough (68.3%).

Unsurprisingly, London has the highest number of gyms at 1,165, but its size and population density give the capital a relatively low number of gyms per 100k.