Baltimore can now start the bragging — according to Men’s Fitness magazine, it’s America’s fittest city in 2006.

In a surprising jump in rankings, Baltimore, which last year came in at 25, had the second-lowest number of places to buy ice cream of all cities surveyed, ranked third-best in access to health-care, placed in the top 10 in ratio of people to public parks, and enjoyed an exercising populace (8 of 10 residents had gotten exercise in the past 30 days). But then again, the magazine gave the city relatively low grades in some other key indicators — an F in fitness centers/sports stores, F+ in exercise/sports participation, and a D- in alcohol use.

What gives? Even some Baltimoreans are shocked, notes WTOP:

“I think it’s probably the most mis-fit city in America,” said Charisse Bailey as she dug into a typical Baltimore lunch: fried red snapper on thick white bread, with a side of french fries and a beer. The city’s skyline is famous for neon signs advertising Domino sugar, Utz potato chips and National Bohemian beer. And while many Baltimore neighborhoods, such as Fells Point and Federal Hill, have been transformed by an influx of young professionals, a Friday night visit to either place reveals a culture that revolves around drinking and greasy food.

We smell a scandal. A little payoff for a jump in the rankings? What say you, Baltimore?

And now that we’re mentioning it, the District came in at 18, a few steps up from last year’s 23. The magazine noted that “although tennis courts, city parks and swimming pools are plentiful, so are fast food joints, donut shops and ice cream parlors,” and while we may consume an above average amount of fruits and vegetables, we also consume 3.67 gallons of alcohol per person per year, the most of the cities surveyed. The magazine erroneously stated that the District has no public golf courses, though, ignoring East Potomac Park, Langston, and Rock Creek.

As compared to our other -ist cities, the District was beat out by San Francisco (7) and Boston (10) but ranked above Chicago, Los Angeles, Houston, Miami, Philadelphia, and New York, all of which made it on to the list of America’s 25 fattest cities.

Now we know who we’re not inviting over for dinner.