Health in the United States: Which cities are the healthiest?

Study reveals the healthiest and least healthiest cities in the US.

The American College of Sports Medicine has recently released their 2015 American Fitness Index, naming the top three fittest and the least fit cities in the entire United States.

MUNTINLUPA, PHILIPPINES (Catholic Online) -  Among the thousands of cities surveyed for this index, it was determined that Washington DC, Minneapolis and San Diego are the three cities with the most fit or healthy population. While Indianapolis, Memphis and Oklahoma occupy the top spots of the list for the least fit cities or metropolitan areas in the country.

What are the factors considered for this index? ACSM used different key aspects to determine each city's rankings. Here are some factors included on their list:

·    The percentage of people suffering from heart diseases or cardiovascular ailments

·    Death rates due to specific types of diseases such as diabetes and angina.

·    The city's land area in terms of parkland, dog parks and other recreational areas

·    The percentage of the city's per capita based on their farmer's markets production and sales

·    The rate of people commuting to and from work (the use of public transportation)

·    The rate of people using their bicycles or walking to go places

·    The per capita rate based on the number of sports related facilities such as pools, tennis courts and basketball courts, among many others

Joining Washington DC on the top spot are Minneapolis, San Diego, San Francisco and Sacramento. These cities are found to have the largest number of farmer's markets in the country. They are also known to have the most recreation parks that help improve the health of their residents. They encourage physical activities such as walking, running, biking and other types of sports.

In fact, 95 percent of DC residents are known to live at least 10 minutes away from the nearest recreational park. These cities have the least amount of heart related deaths in the country.

---

'Help Give every Student and Teacher FREE resources for a world-class Moral Catholic Education'

Copyright 2021 - Distributed by Catholic Online