Washington D.C. Is The Nation's Fittest City
A big network of walking and cycling paths, wide sidewalks and, most of all, plenty of parks make Washington D.C. the nation's fittest city, according to the American College of Sports Medicine.
And despite its notoriously snowy weather, Minneapolis-St. Paul ranks second on the fitness index issued annually by the group. Last place goes to Indianapolis, with Memphis scoring barely any better.
The secret? Making healthy living easy, experts agree.
"If you walk out onto the (National Mall) at noon, tourists can't get around because there are so many people exercising, so many people walking and jogging. And on the weekend they are playing kickball on the Mall," said Walt Thompson of Georgia State University, board chair for the report.
The American College of Sports Medicine and the Anthem Foundation put together the fitness index using data on smoking, exercise, rates of asthma and heart disease.
"But what makes the American Fitness Index really unique is that we combine these personal health indicators with what we call community or environmental indicators," Thompson told NBC News.
"Basically it answers the question: If I want to be physically active, if I want to maintain my healthy lifestyle, does my community or the environment support that?"
Last year, Minneapolis was No. 1 in the index. What makes a city a winner, says Thompson, is a combination of opportunities to exercise and access to healthful foods.
"The parks are accessible in Washington, D.C.," Thompson said. "The second interesting thing about Washington is how much money they spend per person per capita on parks: $287 per capita for every single person who lives in Washington, DC. Now in comparison, the lowest city on the American fitness index, Indianapolis, spends about $27 per capita on their parks."
Healthy eating isn't so popular in the lower-ranked cities, Thompson said. "Folks in Indianapolis, like folks in the Southeast where I live, we love to eat and unfortunately we don't eat enough fresh fruits and vegetables," Thompson said.
At least two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese, and have skyrocketing levels of heart disease, diabetes and other obesity-related diseases, including certain cancers.
And recent studies show nearly 30 percent of the global population, or 2.1 billion people, are either overweight or obese. Not a single country has lowered its obesity rate since 1980, And even though the United States accounts for just 5 percent of the world's total population, Americans make up 13 percent of the global overweight and obese population.
New dietary guidelines coming out for Americans aim to get people to eat more vegetables, less fat and salt and to exercise more. The U.S. Institute of Medicine recommends that Americans get at least 60 minutes a day of moderate exercise, such as brisk walking.
But the ACSM/Anthem survey found an 11 percent decrease in the number of people who exercise regularly. "We're not exactly sure why that's happening, except there are some things in cities that are happening that aren't making them safe any longer to exercise," Thompson said.
Here's how some U.S. cities rank:
Top 10
Washington, D.C.
Minneapolis/St. Paul
San Diego
San Francisco
Sacramento
Denver
Portland
Seattle
Boston
San Jose
Bottom 10
Dallas
New Orleans
Charlotte
Birmingham
Nashville
Louisville
San Antonio
Oklahoma City
Memphis
Indianapolis
Source: http://www.nbcnews.com./health/diet-fitness/midnight-embargo-running-office-washington-dc-fittest-us-city-n360891
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Ooohh...my state didn't make the list.
Mine either Nona. So that makes us moderates.
sigh......
$287 per person? Remind me to move there sometime, and soon. Last on the list, Indianapolis, comparatively spends $27 per person. Personally speaking, and judging by the size of my rump, it's entirely appropriate that I livein the Dallas area (bottom 10), but I will admit to having been in Indianapolis quite a bit over the years. So clearly, it's not my fault.
Nona
Great article
Not surprising that 7 of the top 10 are on the west coast
We have a greenway bike trail that extends from the shores of Lake Erie south for about 40 miles into the county, but their are few bike paths on country roads and you compete with the tractors,trucks and cars for space to ride your bike, walk or run
Hanging head in shame....TN has two in the bottom 10
Feeling a little guilty as pizza is cooking in our oven!
Did attend exercise class today, does that count????
The image that accompanies the original article isquite hilarious if you look closely.
I expect you're right . If you look at the alcoholism rate in DC as well as the heart attack rate you would see a very different picture .
lol She must have JUST moved there!!