The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) ranks the 50 fittest and healthiest metropolitan cities in the United States every year. They base it on a number of factors including smoking habits, exercise, obesity rates, and numbers of chronic health problems (diabetes, heart disease, asthma, etc.).
So where does your metro city rank? Here is the list starting with the number one fittest and healthiest city, going down to the least:
1. Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.
2. Washington, D.C.
3. Boston, Mass.
4. Portland, Ore.
5. Denver, Colo.
6. San Francisco, Calif.
7. Hartford, Conn.
8. Seattle, Wash.
9. Virginia Beach, Va.
10. Sacramento, Calif.
11. San Jose, Calif.
12. Richmond, Va.
13. San Diego, Calif.
14. Cincinnati, Ohio
15. Salt Lake City, Utah
16. Austin, Texas
17. Pittsburgh, Pa.
18. Atlanta, Ga.
19. Providence, R.I.
20. Baltimore, Md.
21. Milwaukee, Wis.
22. Kansas City, Mo.
23. Buffalo, N.Y.
24. Raleigh, N.C.
25. Cleveland, Ohio
26. St. Louis, Mo.
27. Philadelphia, Pa.
28. Chicago, Ill.
29. Orlando, Fla.
30. New York, N.Y.
31. Jacksonville, Fla.
32. Phoenix, Ariz.
33. San Antonio, Texas
34. New Orleans, La.
35. Miami, Fla.
36. Charlotte, N.C.
37. Nashville, Tenn.
38. Columbus, Ohio
39. Dallas, Texas
40. Tampa, Fla.
41. Los Angeles, Calif.
42. Houston, Texas
43. Las Vegas, Nev.
44. Riverside, Calif.
45. Indianapolis, Ind.
46. Detroit, Mich.
47. Birmingham, Ala.
48. Memphis, Tenn.
49. Louisville, Ky.
50. Oklahoma City, Okla.
My city ranked number 21, which I guess isn’t so bad. But if you live in Detroit, Birmingham, Memphis, Louisville or Oklahoma City, then you are the five bottom cities for fitness and health.
If you live in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Washington D.C., Boston, Portland or Denver, then you are faring well.
So perhaps this should be a wake-up call to some city officials and health experts that something needs to be done in their cities. And for other cities, they need to continue doing what they are doing.
How do you feel about these findings?
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