SEATTLE– The Washington, D.C., metro area is the fittest of America’s 50 most populous metropolitan areas according to the American College of Sports Medicine’s (ACSM) American Fitness Index™ (AFI). ACSM unveiled the 2009 rankings and released the AFI data report, “Health and Community Fitness Status of the 50 Largest Metropolitan Areas,“ during the organization’s Annual Meeting in Seattle. The report, produced in partnership with the WellPoint Foundation, is a snapshot of the state of health and fitness in America’s most populous metropolitan areas.
The AFI data report reflects a composite of preventive health behaviors, levels of chronic disease conditions, health care access, as well as community resources and policies that support physical activity. In addition to a data report, AFI is a program designed to help communities identify opportunities to improve the health of their residents and expand community assets to better support active, healthy lifestyles.
“ACSM believes that researching and understanding the scope of the problem is the first step toward developing programs, initiatives and policies to increase physical activity,” according to AFI Advisory Board Chair Walt Thompson, Ph.D., FACSM. “The data evaluated for this report will help identify each metropolitan area’s strengths and weaknesses.”
Based on figures related to healthy lifestyles and physical activity, the Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA) of Washington-Arlington-Alexandria scored 74.4 in the AFI data report to achieve the top ranking. Metro areas completing the top five were Minneapolis-St. Paul, Denver, Boston and San Francisco, which finished at the top of the inaugural rankings in 2008. Seattle, ACSM’s host city for its 2009 Annual Meeting, along with the surrounding MSA, finished sixth.
The western United States dominated the top 10, with only three cities lying east of the Mississippi River. The nation’s largest cities finished in the middle of the pack with New York at 22nd, Chicago at 25th and Los Angeles at 30th.
The Washington metro area scored above average on the percentage of its citizens who eat five or more fruits and vegetables per day and had a low percentage of smokers. The area also has lower percentages of those with chronic health problems such as obesity, diabetes, angina or coronary heart disease.
Washington also boasts a high percentage of city land area for parks; higher park-related expenditures per capita; more recreation centers, tennis courts, park units and swimming pools per capita; a high percentage of citizens using public transportation or bicycling/walking to work; a higher-level state requirement for physical education classes; and a higher-than-average number of primary health care providers.
“The WellPoint Foundation is honored to be the founding and ongoing sponsor of the AFI program, and we are committed to improving the health of our nation,” said Wesley Wong, M.D., M.M.M., Regional Vice President and National Medical Director for WellPoint’s affiliated health plans and member of the AFI Advisory Board. “By supporting AFI alongside programs like our Healthy Generations initiative, we are able to identify risk areas and develop partnerships with community organizations promoting local programs designed to reduce areas of concern.”
The metropolitan rankings included in the report are:
Rank/Metropolitan Area/Score
1. Washington, D.C. 74.4
15. Atlanta, Ga. 59.3
22. New York, N.Y. 48.9
25.Chicago, Ill. 47.6
26. Nashville, Tenn. 46.8
33. St. Louis, Mo. 42.5*
35. Dallas, Texas 39.6
37. Memphis, Tenn. 38.5
43. Birmingham, Ala. 32.2
*Scores have been rounded to the nearest tenth of a point resulting in some apparent ties; however, the rankings are based on the full, calculated scores that were not equal in those cases.
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