Healthy Outlook Blog

The American College of Sports Medicine released it’s seventh American Fitness Index recently. The annual physical for America’s 50 largest cities, the report provides valuable health insights with regards to fitness trends by location, education and economics.

Here are a few of the year’s most interesting findings:

-The western United States dominated the top 10 fittest cities, with only three cities lying along the eastern seaboard. The nation’s three largest cities finished in the middle of the pack with New York at 21st, Chicago at 33rd and Los Angeles at 38th.

-Education proved to be a valuable predictor of health and fitness; areas with a high percentage of residents with high school degrees or higher are more likely to be physically active and be in excellent or very good health. This group is also more likely to have health insurance.

-Considering the challenging economic climate in recent years, the data suggests being unemployed may be a health concern. Metro areas with a higher unemployment rate are more likely to have a higher percentage of death related to cardiovascular disease.

-Poverty levels, disability rates and the rate of violent crime correlated with other health concerns, suggesting that health officials and programs may need to put more emphasis on populations that may be underserved. For example, areas with a higher percentage of households below the poverty level are more likely to smoke, be obese, have diabetes, and have both cardiovascular disease and diabetes related deaths. They are less likely to be physically active, in excellent or very good health, and have health insurance.

You can read the full 2010 Report here.