Planning a New Year's resolution? In Columbus, it might be tough to keep, study says

So what's your New Year's Resolution going to be? Will it be, like most Americans, to keep fit and healthy? Will you try to shed a few pounds, have a better attitude, or keep your wallet a little more plump?

Resolutions are challenging - that's the whole point. Otherwise you'd already be doing what you're setting off to do. But could the area you live actually have an effect on whether or not you succeed in your resolution?

According to one study from WalletHub, that might be the case. In an analysis of 182 U.S. cities, Columbus ranked in the bottom ten cities for being able to keep your New Year's Resolution.

But how did they figure that out?

In the study, WalletHub looked at a wide range of factors that could affect your odds of successfully achieving your New Year's goal.

For example, most Americans who make New Year's resolutions tend to pick a few things. According to Nielson, about 37 percent of people pledge to stay fit and healthy, while 32 percent say they want to lose weight.

About a quarter of people say they will try to tamp down their spending. Others say they want to enjoy life more, hang out with friends and family, read, travel or learn something new.

But if you want to, say, lose weight, there could be factors around your area that might affect your ability to do that. So WalletHub looked at things like obesity rates, access to health food stores, average fitness club fees, fitness gyms per person, and access to outdoor exercise opportunities.

For people who want to save more, they looked at things like median income, average wage growth, credit card and morgage debt, average rents, housing affordability and other factors.

For resolutions about spending more time with friends or significant others, they looked at things like nightlife, restaurants, parks, playgrounds, some previous studies they've done as well as some odder metrics like the average cost of a wedding.

They also looked at the average health of the city, including statistics about the share of smokers and heavy drinkers, the share of those with poor sleep habits, access to opioids and other factors that could affect health.

Most of the data came from nonprofit agencies, government documents or their own research, WalletHub reported.

Columbus ranked at 173 out of 182 cities analyzed - the 9th "worst" city on the list. The top ranked cities were Seattle and San Francisco, and the bottom cities included Newark, N.J., Detroit, and Shreveport, La. The absolute bottom spot belonged to Gulfport, Miss.

Atlanta, on the other hand, actually fared pretty well. It ranked as the 14th best city for keeping your resolution, ahead of Los Angeles, Denver and New York City.

Columbus' worst category was in health and fitness resolutions, but that doesn't mean hope is lost. There are some great local farmers markets, stocked with fresh meats and vegetables from area farms, that can provide affordable, healthy food year-round.

And when you've got your fridged stocked and your meals planned, you can hit one of Columbus' many running trails, included the newly paved Dragonfly trail that connects the Fall Line Trace to the River Walk.

Plus, a new project from the folks at Together 2017, of which the Ledger-Enquirer is a part, will involve installing a $140,000 outdoor fitness area at Rotary Park for free, public use.

There's hope for your resolution yet, no matter what it may be.

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