JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – If you're looking for the Fountain of Youth, stay away from Jacksonville. At least that's according to a new study published in RealAge magazine that says living in the River City can age you.
"We've been here eight years," Jacksonville resident Jim Dowd said. "We came here from the North, where I would have had to get older shoveling snow and driving on ice."
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Dowd, 74, said he moved to Jacksonville because the weather makes it the perfect place to grow old gracefully.
According to the study published in RealAge, there are a lot of people in Jacksonville who look and feel a lot older than they really are.
The magazine surveyed more than 27 million people from major U.S. cities. Respondents were asked about their health habits, from smoking, to sleep, to stress.
The study ranking 50 cities based on the likelihood of staying young put Jacksonville nine spots from the bottom.
Salt Lake City was listed as the best city to stay young; Knoxville as the worst.
Slideshow:Best/Worst Cities For Staying Young
"There's a lot more stress here and pollution, but also I think there's a lot of good doctors that help enhance," one 25-year-old Jacksonville resident said.
Dermatologist Michael Bernhardt knows all about physical enhancements.
"There are things you can do to soften the blow, so to speak. Everybody knows about Botox," Bernhardt said;
He said he injects on average about 10 patients a week with Botox and other fillers that erase signs of aging. But there's a simpler way to look young in a not-so-young looking city.
"The single best anti-aging thing in the world is sunscreen," Bernhardt said.
He said proper diet and exercise also helps to prevent free radicals, which speed up the aging process.
Dowd and his senior friends would like to think this study doesn't pertain too much to them.
"I wouldn't say it makes you older. It keeps you young," Dowd said.