Saturday, May 31, 2014

What Areas Wins Top Spots on the 2014 America Fitness Index? .. Find Out ..

The Washington metropolitan area has reclaimed the top spot in an annual ranking of health and community fitness, bumping Minneapolis-St. Paul, last year's three-peat winner, to second place.
Portland, Ore.; Denver; and San Francisco round out the Top 5 on the 2014 American Fitness Index report, released today. Memphis is ranked last among the nation's 50 largest metropolitan areas.
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Published by the American College of Sports Medicine, the report uses federal and other data to compare Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA) based on 31 indicators in four categories: chronic health problems (diabetes, asthma); health behaviors (cigarette smoking and fruit consumption); physical or built environments (parkland acreage and number of farmer's markets); and recreational facilities (swimming pools and playgrounds). A new indicator this year is a city's "Walk Score," a measurement of how easy it is to walk to amenities and services.
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Developed by a team of leading sports medicine professionals and exercise scientists, the fitness index offers a snapshot of the state of health in the community and an evaluation of the infrastructure, community assets and policies that encourage healthy and fit lifestyles, according to the report.
The Washington metro area achieved a high of 77.3 out of 100 possible points with notable strengths listed in the areas of personal health behaviors and amenities that support physical activity and healthy living, says Walter Thompson, chairman of the advisory board that created the index and a professor of exercise physiology at Georgia State University in Atlanta.
Read the rest of the story HERE.



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1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Oh yeah, way to go Portland. Gotta be good for something!

-Martha