Washington D.C.'s Mt. Vernon Trail is just one of many options residents use to stay fit.
Trikke Riders Photo
A new publication by the American College of Sports Medicine, the American Fitness Index (AFI), ranks the District as the number one healthiest city for the second year in a row.
It's not surprising the city ranks at the top of the list, ranking above Minneapolis-St. Paul, Denver, Boston and San Francisco, since it offers various options to stay fit. Accessibility to public transportation, like Metro, makes it easier to access gyms across the area. The soaring popularity of yoga in the District, along with biking and running trails also provide different ways to stay in shape.
The AFI rates metropolitan areas on 30 different indicators, including the percentage of residents who are moderately active, death from cardiovascular disease and the number of days, within the last 30 days, residents did not feel in good health. D.C. led the other metropolitan cities and the nation in over 20 of AFI's indicators. Key indicators that made D.C. the top pick included: the number of farmer's markets, percentage bicycling to work and the percentage of residents with health insurance to name a few.
As we move into the summer months, we are likely to see more residents bike to work, jogging or working out after work and taking advantage of all the area's outdoor activities. If D.C. can improve on the indicators where it fell short by adding more dog parks, golf courses and playgrounds, the city will be at the top once again next year.
Comments
Great article. I can't belive DC ranked number one, although, it's not all that surprising...some folks around here can be a little obsessed with fitness. :)
Very informative. I was a little surprised that DC ranked number one. I thought for sure that California would have the number one spot.
Makes me miss living in DC.
This is great information. It's nice that DC is being distinguished for something positive! We have some other statistical rates that aren't such good news.
Wow! This information makes me want to move back to DC.
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