INDIANAPOLIS, In. – Hampton Roads ranks 19 out of 50 of the fittest cities in the United states.
Fifty of the largest metropolitan areas in the U.S. have been evaluated by the ninth annual American Fitness Index, which was released this earlier this month. Our nation’s capital – Washington D.C. has been the most fit city for three years in a row.
With the capital in first place, Minneapolis-St. Paul came in second and Denver moved up from sixth place to third this year. The three top metro areas showed increased walking by residents using public transportation, more parkland for exercise, and lower cardiovascular and diabetes issues.
Midwestern metro areas like Indianapolis, Oklahoma City and Louisville ranked last in the index.
Nationally, there were a few positive shifts in some of the measurements between 2016 and 2015 reports:
- 11.8% increase in the percentage of individuals who indicated they exercised in the last 30 days
- 4.7% drop in the percentage who smoked
- 7.4% drop in the diabetes death rates overall
- 5.2% increase in total park expenditure per resident
- twice as many states had policies in 2016 that required teaching physical education at the elementary, middle, or high school level
Check out the top 50 list here at American Fitness Index.
