Foursquare Says Philly’s Healthy

That's totally grounds for bragging rights ... um, right?

Ok, ok, it’s not particularly scientific (like, at all), but I’ll take it. Techies over at Foursquare—you know, the “check-in to a location and hope you become a virtual mayor” social-media site—released a list of the top 10 healthiest US cities. It’s based on the number of check-ins local residents made at healthy eating establishments, which includes places like farmers markets, salad shops and juice bars.

Get this: Philly came in seventh, in front of Los Angeles, DC and San Francisco. Not too shabby, eh?

The thing is, if we’re being totally honest with ourselves, we have to take the findings with a grain of salt. Sure, the Foursquare people only considered cities with large user bases, but you have to remember that the people who use the service probably aren’t particularly representative of Philly’s population (or any city’s for that matter). I mean, how many grandmas do you know who check in to the Acme everytime they make a stop? (If you know even one, I must meet her.)

So let’s tell it like it is: Of the residents of Philadelphia who use Foursquare, a lot of them are healthy. Or at least, they appear go to a lot of healthy eating places. So … good job, guys!

Oh, and in case you’re wondering, Honolulu took came in first. Not that any of us are surprised.