This Is the Fittest Metropolis within the U.S.

Have you ever exercised at the moment? In the event you stay in Arlington, Virginia, there’s a good probability you answered sure. The town positioned alongside the Potomac River is once more named the fittest within the nation within the seventeenth annual American Health Index, launched by the American Faculty of Sports activities Medication (ACSM) and the Elevance Well being Basis.

The celebrated report analyzes 33 well being indicators, together with power illnesses and bodily exercise, leisure services, public insurance policies, and environmental indicators, to rank America’s 100 fittest cities.

Whereas the Northern Virginian metropolis, which has topped the yearly rating since 2018, did not ace all classes, it had glorious scores in most.

“Arlington ranked first in group/environmental indicators. And, though it ranked fourth in private well being indicators, Arlington had the best charge of residents exercising within the earlier month (87.8%), had essentially the most getting seven or extra hours of sleep an evening (76.4%), and the bottom share smoking (3.4%),” the report said.

Earlier this yr, Arlington’s public parks system was ranked the fifth finest within the nation primarily based on dimension, entry, funding, facilities, and fairness. In keeping with the Belief for Public Land’s ParkScore, 99 p.c of Arlingtonians stay inside ten minutes of a park. The town obtained further factors for including extra playgrounds and for the number of publicly accessible services like basketball hoops, splash pads, and canine parks.

Throughout the Potomac River from Arlington, Washington, D.C., is the second-fittest metropolis in America. Residents within the nation’s capital have among the healthiest consuming habits, with 38 p.c consuming two or extra fruits a day, the best within the nation, and 21.4 p.c consuming three or extra greens every day. Washingtonians had been additionally within the prime 5 for utilizing public transportation, strolling or biking to work, and common train.

And Seattle gained the bronze medal this yr, with the report highlighting town’s third-highest per capita funding in public parks. 

Nevertheless, the report’s findings additionally present that People do not train sufficient to satisfy the minimal ACSM requirements of twenty-two minutes of “moderate-intensity cardio exercise” per day and muscle-strengthening actions twice weekly. There was a lower within the variety of individuals getting seven or extra hours of nightly sleep and a rise in these self-evaluating in poor bodily and psychological well being.

“Publish-pandemic, People will not be as lively as we wish,” Stella Volpe, ACSM President, mentioned in a press launch supplied to Journey + Leisure. “To assist facilitate this, local people leaders should step up and make daring spending selections, coverage selections, and infrastructure adjustments to extend alternatives for residents to be bodily lively and wholesome.”

Lexington, Kentucky, and Miami had essentially the most important jumps in rating. The previous gained 31 locations since final yr to say the forty ninth spot, and the latter occupied the thirteenth place this yr, an enchancment of 26 locations over 2023. 

Essentially the most pronounced detrimental place adjustments had been for Tampa, Florida (dropping 21 locations to forty fifth) and Greensborough, North Carolina (dropping 18 locations to eightieth).

You possibly can learn your entire report on acsm.org.