Washington D.C. - the capital of the United States - is the fittest city in the country, according to the American College of Sports Medicine's latest annual American Fitness IndexTM (AFI) data.
In its seventh yearly report, the study supported by WellPoint Foundation revealed that Washington D.C. grabbed the top spot, leaving behind metropolitan areas like Chicago, New York City and Miami.
The report found that less than 22 percent of the population of Washington D.C. is obese. The index also showed that about 81 percent of the people in the city performed some physical activity over the past 30 days.
The AFI assessed 50 largest metro areas of the country, taking into account data from the Census Bureau and the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They also analyzed the cities' walk score, smoking rates, obesity and physical activity. Other community factors were also analyzed to arrive at the list.
The study found that smoking levels and obesity rates in the top five cities were considerably low - at 18 percent and 23 percent respectively.
"The AFI data report is a snapshot of the state of health in the community and an evaluation of the infrastructure, community assets and policies that encourage healthy and fit lifestyles. These measures directly affect quality of life in our country's urban areas," said Walter Thompson, chair of the AFI Advisory Board, in a statement adding that the index has now become a nationally accepted annual community and health check up tool.
The cities were scored on a fitness score of 100. Check out the top 15 healthiest states of America below:
1. Washington, D.C. - 77.3 points
2. Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn. - 73.5 points
3. Portland, Ore. - 72.1 points
4. Denver, Colo. - 71.7 points
5. San Francisco, Calif. - 71.0 points
6. San Jose, Calif. - 69.4 points
7. Seattle, Wash. - 69.3 points
8. San Diego, Calif. - 69.2 points
9. Boston, Mass. - 69.1 points
10. Sacramento, Calif. - 66.9 points
11. Salt Lake City, Utah - 65.7 points
12. Hartford, Conn. - 63.8 points
13. Raleigh, N.C. - 61.5 points
14. Austin, Texas - 60.6 points
15. Chicago, Ill. - 56.6 points
See the complete list here.
While these were the healthiest cities of the U.S., earlier this year, Gallup surveys revealed a list of the laziest states of America with Delaware, West Virginia and Alabama topping the list. Take a look at all the states here.
