Congestion Ranking: How Stuffed-Up is Rhode Island?
Monday, December 05, 2011
Need a tissue? Turns out RI is one of the top American cities that does.
It turns out Rhode Island has one of the Top 50 Most Congested Cities in the US, as in nasal congestion. Which RI city needs to blow its nose?
Providence.
And while we're searching for a tissue, what cities were the most congested? The big sneezy turns out to be Oklahoma City, followed by Birmingham, AL (#2), New Orleans, LA (#3), Louisville, KY(#4), and Memphis, TN (#5). Providence maintains a #40 ranking, just behind Chicago, IL and ahead of San Diego, CA. The only other New England city in the Top 50 was indeed Boston, at #47.
How to figure out a city's congestion
In partnership with Sperling's BestPlaces, the makers of Breathe Right Nasal Strips set out to assess the top 50 metropolitan areas where residents are "most challenged by congestion."
Cities were identified by the incidence and likelihood of congestion, according to Breathe Right, by a set of weighted categories commonly acknowledged by health pros to be associated with congestion:
- Tree, grass and weed pollens, mold, and spores
- Air pollution
- Incidence of influenza
- Purchase habits of congestion products
- Prescriptions of drugs for congestion relief
- Smoking
- Climate
20% of us are stuffed-up
According to GlaxoSmithKline, makers of Breathe Right Nasal Strips, 20% of the US population suffers from chronic nighttime nasal congestion. "For many people who are congested, the right to breathe naturally and freely is taken away," says Michael J. Breus, PhD, clinical psychologist and diplomate of the American Board of Sleep Medicine.
To check out all of America's Top 50 Congested Cities, go here.
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