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Once again, the D.C. area has been crowned the fittest city in the country. Congrats, D.C.! Now give me 30 celebratory push-ups.
Per the American Fitness Index’s annual report, put together by the American College of Sports Medicine, the D.C. area has a score of 79.6, making it the fittest metropolitan area in the country, just ahead of the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, San Diego, the San Francisco-Oakland area, and Sacramento.
The D.C. area’s score for this year isn’t just the highest in the country, but it’s higher than it was last year, when it scored 77.3 out of 100 points. The American College of Sports Medicine assesses fitness to develop these scores based on 31 indicators, which are then broken down into four main areas: health behaviors, chronic health problems, built environment, and recreational facilities.
Based on the assessment, the American Fitness Index determined these areas to be our region’s “areas of excellence:”
- Lower percent with angina or coronary heart disease
- Lower death rate for cardiovascular disease
- Lower death rate for diabetes
- Higher percent of city land area as parkland
- More farmers’ markets per capita
- Higher percent using public transportation to work
- Higher percent bicycling or walking to work
- Higher Walk Score®
- Higher percent of population within a 10 minute walk to a park
- More dog parks per capita
- More park units per capita
- More recreation centers per capita
- More swimming pools per capita
- More tennis courts per capita
- Higher park-related expenditures per capita
But we still have areas to improve on, the assessment found:
- Lower percent meeting CDC aerobic activity guidelines
- Higher percent with asthma
- Higher percent with diabetes
- Fewer acres of parkland per capita
- Fewer golf courses per capita
You can see the full report here.
