People choose their hometowns for many reasons such as job requirements, family and friends and weather, but have you considered choosing a city because it is a healthy place to live and can help you meet your fitness goals? The American Fitness index recently released a listing of America’s Fittest Cities; 45 metropolitan areas were accessed on 30 scales including causes of death, diet of residents, mental health, physician availability, and percentage of the population that walk or bike to work. Forbes was surprised that Washington D.C. was ranked as America’s fittest metropolitan area, beating out Denver, Seattle, and San Diego.
America’s Top 10 Fittest Cities:
1. Washington DC
2. Minneapolis
3. Denver
4. Boston
5. San Francisco
6. Seattle
7. Portland
8. San Diego
9. Austin
10. Virginia Beach
The bottom five:
41. Houston
42. Las Vegas
43. Birmingham
44. Detroit
45. Oklahoma City
My home town of Indianapolis was ranked at 36th and our number of golf courses was ranked as a strength. I was surprised that our number of parks was ranked low, but not surprised that we should have more farmer’s markets. Where does your city rank? How can we encourage healthier living at home and in our communities? What does your community do that encourages fitness and health?