America's fittest cities: How does your city stack up?
How fit is your city? A new report from the American College of Sports Medicine's (ACSM) American Fitness Index (AFI) looked at the 50 largest metro areas and ranked them based on health and community fitness. Number one on the list? The Washington D.C. metro area, which includes Arlington and Alexandria. Here's the entire list:
1. Washington, D.C.
2. Minneapolis-St. Paul
3. Denver
4. Boston
5. San Francisco
6. Seattle
7. Portland, Ore.
8. San Diego
9. Austin
10. Virginia Beach
11. Hartford, Conn.
12. Sacramento
13. San Jose
14. Cincinnati
15.Atlanta
16. Pittsburgh
17. Milwaukee
18. Buffalo, NY
19. Baltimore
20. Raleigh, NC
21. Kansas City, MO/KS
22. New York City
23. Tampa
24. Cleveland
25. Chicago
26. Nashville
27. Philadelphia
28. Jacksonville
29. Columbus, OH
30. Los Angeles
31. Miami
32. Phoenix
33. St. Louis
34. Charlotte
35. Dallas
36. Indianapolis
37. Memphis
38. Louisville
39. San Antonio
40. Riverside, CA
41. Houston
42. Las Vegas
43. Birmingham, AL
44. Detroit
45. Oklahoma City
NR. Orlando, FL
NR. Providence, RI
NR. Richmond, VA
NR. Rochester, NY
NR. Salt Lake City, UT
Note: Cities marked NR were included in the index but not ranked due to lack of information.
Source: American Fitness Index
The Washington metro area scored well in the following:
Percentage of its citizens who eat five or more fruits and vegetables per day
Low percentage of smokers
Lower percentages of people with chronic health problems like obesity, diabetes, angina or coronary heart disease
High percentage of city land area for parks
More recreation centers, tennis courts, park units and swimming pools
Higher-level state requirement for physical education classes
Higher-than-average number of primary health care providers
High percentage of citizens using public transportation or bicycling/walking to work
Where I live - Columbus, Ohio - is #29. Come on, C-Bus - we can do better!
How did your city rank?
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