A Big Apple a day keeps the doctor away.
Four out of the city’s five boroughs moved up in annual health rankings produced by the Robert Wood Johnson foundation, a health philanthropy organization.
Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn and Staten Island each made gains in the annual county rankings, and even The Bronx, which came in last for the sixth straight year, made improvements.
Of the state’s 62 counties, Manhattan placed eighth, up from 24th place a year ago. Queens moved to 12th place from 18th; Brooklyn from 43rd to 50th; and Staten Island ranked 24th, a few notches above last year.
New York’s healthiest county, according to the report, is Rockland, which rose from third place a year ago.
The Bronx, despite a social-media campaign urging residents to eat right and exercise, finished 62nd.
Researchers credited health-care access, improved employment numbers and access to parks and gyms for the city’s positive prognosis.
“Health is so much more than going to see a doctor,” said Jan O’Neill, a researcher with the University of Wisconsin’s Population Health Institute, which crunches the numbers for the foundation.
“Fully 40 percent of what contributes to premature death is social and economic factors,” O’Neill added.
Over the past decade, the city has implemented policies to curb unhealthy habits, such as smoking.
One of the bright spots in Manhattan was a decline in the premature-death rate. Researchers said that number dropped by 22 percent between 2006 and 2012 — one of the biggest reductions in the country.
Despite The Bronx’s dismal ranking, its leaders still had reason to cheer. Researchers said the borough was making important health improvements, and is one of the finalists for the foundation’s Culture of Health Prize, which is awarded to communities making great strides toward better health.
“We are encouraged that we have improved slightly in some indicators, such as unemployment, but there is still a tremendous amount of work to be done,” said Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.