Eat Your Brussell Sprouts!

Richmond’s Gwarbar: Food your friends will literally die for.

Richmond has a reputation as a great foodie town with more than its fair share of organic, locally sourced ingredients. But great food doesn’t necessarily translate into healthy food. Richmond ranks 161st out of 189 metropolitan regions nationally for “healthy eating,” according to the 2016 Community Rankings for Healthy Eating survey conducted by Gallup Sharecare. That was the lowest score of any Virginia metro.

The healthiest Virginia community? Charlottesville. Of course.

The methodology was not what you’d call scientifically rigorous. The ranking, based upon the question, “Did you eat healthy all day yesterday,” actually gauges perceptions of healthy eating. It’s not clear how much the answers were influenced by how different communities define “healthy” eating — who says french fries topped with cheese and chili aren’t good for you? Or how much answers were affected by local cultural expectations — a little extra padding is good for you. You never know when you might find yourself adrift at sea and really need it!

But for purposes of argument, let’s assume there is a correlation between what people say they eat, what they actually eat, and how healthy they are. Here are the Virginia rankings.

21. Charlottesville
72. Washington-Arlington
78. Roanoke
113. Lynchburg
126. Virginia Beach-Norfolk
131. Kingsport-Bristol
161. Richmond