Even though the COVID-19 pandemic is over, about half of U.S. adults still don’t do enough aerobic activity, and only one in four people do enough strength training and aerobic activity together.
The most recent fitness ranking of the 100 biggest cities in the United States shows that about 51% of people get the 150 minutes of moderate intensity aerobic exercise every week that the American College of Sports Medicine recommends. This kind of regular exercise can help prevent chronic diseases and lessen or get rid of the effects of anxiety and sadness.
Every year, the ACSM/Elevance Health Foundation Fitness Index uses 34 personal and group health indicators to rank the 100 largest cities and towns.
For the sixth year in a row, Arlington, Virginia was named the best city. Second place went to Washington, D.C., then to Seattle, Minneapolis, and Irvine, California. Out of the 100 towns, Oklahoma City had the worst score. Wichita, Kansas, Bakersfield, California, Louisville, Kentucky, and North Las Vegas, Nevada are the other four cities in the bottom five.
ACSM says the fitness report helps city and community leaders understand how policies, systems, and tactics can help people get healthier and more fit.
“People need to be more active,” said Stella Volpe, who is chair of the American Fitness Index Advisory Board and will be president-elect of ACSM. “You don’t have to run a marathon. It could be going for a walk with your family, friends, or dogs.
Mental Health and Lack of Sleep Weigh on Americans
As the country comes out of the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s study has new information on mental health issues. In the past month, about 42% of people said they had bad mental health. Only 27% of people in Miami had recently experienced bad mental health, which was the lowest percentage of people in the country’s largest cities. Sixty-three percent of people in Richmond, Virginia, said they had recently had bad mental health.
According to the study, at least one-third of adults in the top 100 cities didn’t get enough sleep. Not getting enough sleep makes you more likely to get diabetes, heart disease, or being overweight. The report does say, though, that cities where people get enough sleep tend to be more fit generally. Five of the Top 10 Most Restful Cities were also in the Top 10 Fittest Cities.
The best places to sleep were both in California and Wisconsin, with 78.8% of people getting at least 7 hours of sleep every day. 57% of people in Corpus Christi, Texas, got enough sleep, which put it at the bottom of the list.
Also read: A Little Island is Supposed to be Michigan’s Scariest Place to Visit
Obesity and Heart Disease
There are other ways that Americans’ lack of exercise hurts them. About one in ten people had two or more long-term illnesses, which made them more likely to have problems with COVID-19.
Nearly 31% of people living in the 100 biggest towns are overweight or obese, and 30% have high blood pressure. These are two long-term health problems that became more common during the pandemic. Almost 11% of them have diabetes.
It was said in the study that unhealthy habits like smoking or using tobacco, eating poorly, drinking too much, or not being active are often linked to chronic diseases. According to the study, getting more exercise could help people live longer and stop 1 in 12 cases of diabetes and 1 in 15 cases of heart disease.
Top 10 Fittest Cities in USA
- Arlington, Virginia
- Washington D.C.
- Seattle
- Minneapolis
- Irvine, California
- Madison Wisconsin
- San Francisco
- St. Paul, Minnesota
- Denver
- Oakland, California