11 Oct 2008

Rodney healthiest place to live

3:46 pm on 11 October 2008

The Rodney District Mayor says she is not surprised a study shows her district is the healthiest place to live in New Zealand.

Wellington and North Shore City were judged the next most healthy places.

Rodney's Mayor Penny Webster says the results are hardly a surprise.

"Rodney is a fabulous place to live in. What I was really keen on was the fact that residents claim they seldom, if ever, experience high levels of stress," she said.

"It's probably because by the time they get home here from battling the commuter belt in Auckland, there's beautiful beaches and scenery and sunshine and stress levels tend to go away."

The ASB-commissioned study analysed health factors in 17 cities, districts and district health boards.

Researchers awarded or deducted points based on 12 categories including stress levels, smoking, physical activity and diet.