A healthy city is not necessarily the one that provides the best health care in terms of access, quality and affordability but one where the inhabitants are aware of their health conditions that it is reflected in their staple diet. It is also about how a city promotes a healthy lifestyle for its residents.

The latest findings of a Health App, HealthifyMe has made some striking revelations.  According to the survey, Delhi eat the Healthiest while a city in Gujarat where the majority of the population are vegetarian have the unhealthiest diet.

The sample size for the survey is 4 million people from 200 cities and the results are drawn from what people reported eating.

Other metropolitan cities that made it to the top slots are Kolkata, followed by Bhubaneshwar. Two cities from Gujarat is the unhealthiest of all. Lucknow, the heaven for kabab lovers also emerged as an unhealthy city.

If statistics are anything to go by, Gujaratis are known the world over for having the highest number of heart attacks at a young age.

Also, Gujarati recipes have the practice of adding sugar to the vegetables, dal and farsan (snacks); making subzis that float in oil; eating sweets rich in ghee along with meals, and pickles and papads full of oil, salt and spices. It all adds up to an unhealthy, high-calorie, cholesterol-rich food habit. All this is multiple times more than the optimum daily calorie needs as all the items are laced in unsaturated fat.

The reports further suggested that compared to other cities, Kolkata on an average does better on protein contribution primarily due to the fish had as part of lunch or dinner. At the same time, its protein consumption is comparable to other cities during breakfast.

Surprisingly, Delhi that is on the brink of a health emergency with pollution levels crossing hazardous level is the best if the regular diet is concerned, according to HealthifyMe. Delhi has the highest energy contribution due to fat across breakfast, lunch, and dinner. 

Chappati triumphed over rice among people who want to lose weight and Monday emerged as the healthiest day of the week when fruits and vegetable consumption is at its peak. There were no surprises on the popular healthy and unhealthy foods. The boiled egg is the choicest healthy food and mutton curry the favourite unhealthy food for both men and women, found the survey.  

Here is the consolidates list:

Healthiest Cities:                                                                           

Delhi

Kolkata

Bhubaneshwar

Ludhiana

Pimri-Chinchawad

Nagpur

Kanpur

Gurgaon

Pune

Navi Mumbai

Unhealthiest Cities:

Vadodara

Ahmedabad

Lucknow

Coimbatore

Secunderabad

Hyderabad

Jaipur

Bengaluru

Faridabad

Chennai