For the third year in a row, Washington D.C. ranks as the fittest city
in the United States with Minneapolis coming in second, according to
the American Fitness Index (AFI). This comes as no surprise as the two
cities have dominated the list for years.
share link
America's fittest city is...
Play Video
But the survey did uncover an interesting trend nationwide — 76.8
percent of Americans reported exercising within within the past 30 days,
which is up from 68.7 percent in 2015, an increase of 11.8 percent.
"That's a huge increase. Usually we will see a one or two percent
increase," says Walter R. Thompson, chair of the AFI advisory board.
SaveTODAY.comThese
are the top fittest cities in America. From running to playing
basketball to stand up paddle boarding to skiing to biking, there are so
many different activities that you can do.265TODAY ShowGET FIT
This is good news for the nation's overall health. When a city's
population increases its dedication to health, the city moves up the
list, but that's only part of it. Environmental factors, such as access
to parks and walkability, also contribute to how fit a city is. That's
why the American College of Sports Medicine and the Anthem Foundation,
which compile the AFI, examine personal health and environmental factors
to determine the healthiest cities.
RELATED: 5 easy exercises to sculpt your butt for summer
While the list shows that some cities have swapped places, yet once
again Indianapolis is the least healthy city, coming in at 50.
"They have a fairly high percentage of the population that is obese,
33 percent," says Thompson. "Park expenditures (what the city spends on
its parks) is $24 per resident and only 32 percent of the population
live within a 10-minute walk of the park."
Compare that to Washington D.C. where 96.3 percent of the population
is within a 10-minute walk of a park, the city spends $346 per resident
on parks, and 25 percent of the population is obese. Minneapolis and
Denver, the number two and three fittest cities respectively, also boast
populations interested in better health and loads of parks and workout
facilities.
0 Comments