TOP STATES1. Hawaii2. Colorado3. Minnesota4. Utah5. VermontTOP MIDSIZE CITIES1. Lincoln, Neb.2. Boulder, Colo.3. Provo-Orem, Utah4. Fort Collins-Loveland, Colo.5. Honolulu
Darryl Caldwell, a former pro football player with the Buffalo Bills, works out at the downtown YMCA early Wednesday morning. Caldwell has been exercising at the YMCA four times a week for the past 19 years.A national, yearlong survey that ranks states based on residents’ well-being puts Tennessee near the bottom of the list, which is viewed as bad news for business owners.
In addition to Tennessee’s low rank, the Chattanoga region scored poorly in the survey, earning the 178th spot of 189 cities polled.
Sliding into the 47th spot, Tennessee beats only Mississippi, Kentucky and West Virginia – which means Tennesseans tend to fare worse than the majority of the country when it comes to physical health, work environment, emotional health and healthy behaviors, the Gallup and Healthways 2012 Well-Being Index shows.
And unhappy or unhealthy people make poor employees. A growing number of Tennessee companies are looking for ways to improve employee health — aiming to decrease health insurance costs, improve productivity and boost the bottom line.