Do people who live in hilly towns have better health than those who live in flat towns?
Mark Thompson
Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, UK
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If we look at the of the healthiest places in the UK, then first place goes to Milton Keynes, which is flat. Second place goes to Brighton and Hove (despite being on the coast, the city is quite hilly); joint third to Swansea and Middlesbrough (both hilly and on the coast); fifth to Sunderland (mostly hilly and also on the coast); and sixth to Plymouth (again, despite being on the coast, the town is quite hilly).
So, while Milton Keynes is an outlier, the others have pseudo-challenging terrains, but are also on the coast. As my paternal grandmother used to say: “Get some sea air into your lungs, it will do you the world of good.”
Pamela Ross
Findochty, Moray, UK
I lived for decades in a rather flat area of the Vale of York, UK, not a hill in sight, but moved to a seaside village in Scotland six years ago.
The village has steep hills linking the various levels from the harbour up to the “top road”, including a steep hill from the end of my road down to the harbour. When I first moved here, I had to think twice about going down to the harbour as, on the walk back, I would have to stop halfway up the hill to catch my breath. After six years of regularly climbing that hill, it is no longer a problem. I don’t have to stop, just keep plodding along to the top. I am not sure if that is an indication of better health or just better fitness.
Hillary Shaw
Newport, Shropshire, UK
Having researched diet and so-called – areas where there are barriers to a healthy diet (in terms of money, knowledge and accessing the food) – hilly towns may engender a worse diet, which is crucial to health.
Firstly, they may be smaller, with less access to cheap supermarkets. The Welsh Valleys were an acute case of this: some homes were 100 metres vertically above the main road with the bus stop and shops, encouraging the use of local takeaways and small shops with no fresh produce, rather than lugging heavy fresh produce uphill. Hilly towns may offer less access to other retail areas. The Welsh Valleys had towns in the next valley that were half an hour’s drive away.
Secondly, hilly towns may be poorer (industry likes flat, accessible areas; big supermarkets definitely do, as they need large, flat car parks) or may be touristy, with food shops displaced by souvenir shops and cafés.
Finally, “excessive” exercise – like carrying heavy loads uphill – may cause joint wear. Against this, small hilly towns may attract an older, wealthier population with cars (young, poorer, carless people may go to big, flat cities), so they may have better cooking knowledge.
Ametrine Lavender
Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, UK
I live in a hillside village about 100 metres above a Pennine valley town. The 10 years I have been living here have been the fittest of my life, as I usually walk into town and back up the hill home several times a week. However, most people who live in the village use the bus or drive. It is a steep, hard walk back if you aren’t fit.
I have talked to a number of people over the years who said they tried walking back up the hill when they first moved here, then decided never again. My response is that unless you do it often enough to get fit and stay fit, it is going to feel like hell.
We have amazing Pennine scenery here, which I enjoy very much when I am walking up and down the hill. But we also have Yorkshire weather, which puts people off walking.
You would expect that where people walk the hills, they would be fitter, but if the terrain and the weather put them off and if there is a good bus service like we have, then they may be less fit than people who walk 10 minutes on flat ground to the shops and 10 minutes back with their shopping a few times a week.
When we were having major gas works and buses were diverted, more people walked both ways. So, ironically, reducing bus services might improve health for many, unless they just revert to cars.
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