Health & Fitness
This article is from the WebMD News Archive
Which City Is America's Fittest?
May 26, 2009 -- Washington, D.C., tops the American College of Sports Medicine's new list of America's fittest cities.
The list is based on personal factors -- including the percentage of residents who smoke, are obese, get regular physical activity, eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables per day, and have conditions such as diabetes and heart disease -- and on local resources, such as parks, farmers' markets, number of primary health care providers, and crime rates.
Data came from sources including the CDC, U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the nonprofit Trust for the Public Land.
Here is how the cities ranked:
- Washington, D.C.
- Minneapolis-St. Paul
- Denver
- Boston
- San Francisco
- Seattle
- Portland
- San Diego
- Austin, Texas
- Virginia Beach, Va.
- Hartford, Conn.
- Sacramento, Calif.
- San Jose, Calif.
- Cincinnati
- Atlanta
- Pittsburgh
- Milwaukee, Wis.
- Buffalo, N.Y.
- Baltimore
- Raleigh, N.C.
- Kansas City, Mo./Kan.
- New York
- Tampa, Fla.
- Cleveland
- Chicago
- Nashville, Tenn.
- Philadelphia
- Jacksonville, Fla.
- Columbus, Ohio
- Los Angeles
- Miami
- Phoenix
- St. Louis
- Charlotte, N.C.
- Dallas
- Indianapolis
- Memphis, Tenn.
- Louisville, Ky.
- San Antonio
- Riverside, Calif.
- Houston
- Las Vegas
- Birmingham, Ala.
- Detroit
- Oklahoma City, Okla.
Five cities -- Orlando, Fla.; Providence, R.I.; Richmond, Va.; Rochester, N.Y.; and Salt Lake City -- weren't rated because of a lack of community/environmental data.
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