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For immediate
release
May 24, 2010
AMERICA'S 50 LARGEST METRO
AREAS GET THEIR ANNUAL PHYSICAL
ACSM American Fitness Index™ Provides a Snapshot of the
State of Health and Fitness; Washington, D.C., Tops List of Healthiest
and Fittest Metro Areas
INDIANAPOLIS – For the third straight
year, the Washington, D.C., metro area claimed the highest ranking in
the American College of Sports
Medicine's (ACSM) American Fitness Index™
(AFI). The AFI data report, "Health and
Community Fitness Status of the 50 Largest Metropolitan Areas,"
evaluates the most populous city areas to determine the healthiest and
fittest metro areas in the United States.
The AFI data report reflects a composite of
preventive health behaviors, levels of chronic disease conditions,
health care access, and community resources and policies that support
physical activity.
"The ACSM American Fitness Index not only
measures the state of health and fitness in our nation's largest
communities, but evaluates the infrastructure, community assets,
policies and opportunities which encourage residents to live a healthy
and fit lifestyle," said AFI Advisory Board Chair Walt Thompson, Ph.D.,
FACSM. "I liken the data report and rankings to the metro areas 'getting
a physical' at the doctor's office. The information learned from the
physical will help each metro area identify areas of strength and
weakness."
ACSM received a grant from the WellPoint
Foundation, based in Indianapolis, to present the 2010 data
report.
"The WellPoint Foundation is pleased to be a
continuing sponsor of the American College of Sports Medicine American
Fitness Index™ (AFI) program," said Wesley Wong, M.D., M.M.M.
Regional Vice President and National Medical Director for WellPoint's
affiliated health plans and member of the AFI Advisory Board. "This
initiative enhances our health improvement efforts across the country
and allows us to be a stronger community partner in the states we
serve."
Digging into the Data
The Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA) of
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria scored 73.5 (out of 100 possible points)
in the AFI data report to achieve the top ranking, just as it did in
2008 and 2009.
Characteristics of the D.C. area that helped it
achieve the top ranking are a relatively low smoking rate, a
higher-than-average percentage of folks eating the recommended daily
serving of fruits and vegetables, and lower-than-average rates of
chronic health concerns such as obesity, asthma, cardiovascular disease
and diabetes. D.C.-area residents also use public transportation
regularly, meaning they are likely to walk to and from their places of
work or transit stations. Also, the area of parkland as a percentage of
the city's land area is significant, providing residents with lots of
space to run, bike, play sports or take a leisurely walk.
Metro areas completing the top five were
Boston, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Seattle and Portland, Ore. The Baltimore,
Md., area (ACSM's host city for its 2010 Annual Meeting), ranked
20th.
The western United States dominated the top 10,
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.
The metropolitan rankings included in the
report are:
|
Rank
|
Metropolitan Area
|
2010 Score
|
2009 Rank
|
2009 Score
|
|
1.
|
Washington, D.C.
|
73.5
|
1
|
74.4
|
|
2.
|
Boston, Mass.
|
72.6
|
4
|
71.4
|
|
3.
|
Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.
|
71.7
|
2
|
72.1
|
|
4.
|
Seattle, Wash.
|
70.5
|
6
|
69.7
|
|
5.
|
Portland, Ore.
|
70.4
|
7
|
68.1
|
|
6.
|
Denver, Colo.
|
69.9
|
3
|
71.6
|
|
7.
|
Sacramento, Calif.
|
65.8
|
12
|
62.2
|
|
8.
|
San Francisco, Calif.
|
64.7
|
5
|
71.3
|
|
9.
|
Hartford, Conn.
|
64.4
|
11
|
62.5
|
|
10.
|
Austin, Texas
|
63.9
|
9
|
65.1
|
|
11.
|
Richmond, Va.
|
62.7
|
NR
|
N/A
|
|
12.
|
Cincinnati, Ohio
|
62.5
|
14
|
60.8
|
|
13.
|
San Diego, Calif.
|
62.0
|
8
|
66.8
|
|
14.
|
San Jose, Calif.
|
61.0
|
13
|
61.3
|
|
15.
|
Salt Lake City, Utah
|
60.6
|
NR
|
N/A
|
|
16.
|
Atlanta, Ga.
|
57.7
|
15
|
59.3
|
|
17.
|
Virginia Beach, Va.
|
57.2*
|
10
|
63.1
|
|
18.
|
Providence, R.I.
|
57.2*
|
NR
|
N/A
|
|
19.
|
Orlando, Fla.
|
55.5
|
NR
|
N/A
|
|
20.
|
Baltimore, Md.
|
53.5
|
19
|
52.5
|
|
21.
|
New York, N.Y.
|
52.9
|
22
|
48.9
|
|
22.
|
Raleigh, N.C.
|
52.4
|
20
|
52.3
|
|
23.
|
Pittsburgh, Pa.
|
52.0
|
16
|
54.3
|
|
24.
|
Jacksonville, Fla.
|
51.2
|
28
|
45.2
|
|
25.
|
Cleveland, Ohio
|
51.0
|
24
|
47.9
|
|
26.
|
Philadelphia, Pa.
|
50.4
|
27
|
45.9
|
|
27.
|
Milwaukee, Wisc.
|
49.2
|
17
|
53.0*
|
|
28.
|
Buffalo, N.Y.
|
49.2
|
18
|
53.0*
|
|
29.
|
Kansas City, Mo.
|
47.9
|
21
|
50.3
|
|
30.
|
Tampa, Fla.
|
47.8
|
23
|
48.5
|
|
31.
|
Nashville, Tenn.
|
47.8
|
26
|
46.8
|
|
32.
|
Phoenix, Ariz.
|
47.4
|
32
|
42.5*
|
|
33.
|
Chicago, Ill.
|
47.0
|
25
|
47.6
|
|
34.
|
Charlotte, N.C.
|
44.0
|
34
|
40.3
|
|
35.
|
Columbus, Ohio
|
42.8
|
29
|
43.9
|
|
36.
|
Riverside, Calif.
|
42.8
|
40
|
35.1
|
|
37.
|
St. Louis, Mo.
|
40.5
|
33
|
42.5*
|
|
38.
|
Los Angeles, Calif.
|
40.5
|
30
|
43.6
|
|
39.
|
Miami, Fla.
|
39.9
|
31
|
42.7
|
|
40.
|
Dallas, Texas
|
39.5
|
35
|
39.6
|
|
41.
|
New Orleans, La.2
|
37.7
|
NR
|
N/A
|
|
42.
|
Houston, Texas
|
37.6
|
41
|
34.7
|
|
43.
|
San Antonio, Texas
|
36.9
|
39
|
35.5
|
|
44.
|
Indianapolis, Ind.
|
35.9
|
36
|
39.3
|
|
45.
|
Las Vegas, Nev.
|
35.3
|
42
|
34.6
|
|
46.
|
Louisville, Ky.
|
32.5
|
38
|
37.7
|
|
47.
|
Detroit, Mich.
|
31.9
|
44
|
30.5
|
|
48.
|
Memphis, Tenn.
|
31.6
|
37
|
38.5
|
|
49.
|
Birmingham, Ala.
|
31.2
|
43
|
32.2
|
|
50.
|
Oklahoma City, Okla.
|
24.3
|
45
|
23.2
|
*Scores have been rounded to the nearest
tenth of a point resulting in some apparent ties; however, the rankings
are based on the full, calculated scores that were not equal in those
cases.
**Editor's note: NR = not ranked; N/A
= not available – Most of the community/environmental data were
not reported in these cities.
2New Orleans, La. replaced
Rochester, N.Y. as the 50th largest metropolitan area in
2010.
Putting the ACSM American Fitness
Index™ Report to Work
In addition to measuring the health and fitness
of the 50 largest metro areas, the AFI data report aims to help
communities develop and implement efforts to raise awareness of the
issues and policies affecting health and fitness in their local
area.
There are additional tools available on the AFI
Web site (www.americanfitnessindex.org) to help kick-start action in the community, spread the
message via local media and social networks, and guide local efforts
that support health and fitness.
With AFI's network of health promotion
partners, community programs, allied associations and other
organizations, each community will be able to tap into best practices
and existing resources to address its unique makeup of opportunities and
challenges. The ultimate result will be an improvement in community
fitness and a reduction in the rates of obesity and other chronic
diseases.
About the
ACSM American Fitness Index Program and Report
To assist with measurement and to provide a
baseline measure of health and fitness status, ACSM worked with the
Indiana University School of Family Medicine and a panel of 26 health
and physical activity experts on the methodology of the AFI data report.
Researchers analyzed the data gleaned from U.S. Census data, the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance
System (BRFSS), The Trust for the Public Land City Park Facts, and other
existing research data in order to give a scientific, accurate snapshot
of the health and fitness status at a metropolitan level.
The data examined fall into two categories: 1)
Personal Health Indicators; and 2) Community and Environmental
Indicators. Visit the online newsroom at www.AmericanFitnessIndex.org
for a complete list of the data
components.
Follow the AFI program on Twitter -
@ACSM_AFI.
About the American College of Sports
Medicine
The American
College of Sports Medicine is the
largest sports medicine and exercise science organization in the
world. More than 35,000 international, national, and regional
members are dedicated to advancing and integrating scientific research
to provide educational and practical applications of exercise science
and sports medicine.
About the WellPoint
Foundation
The WellPoint Foundation, Inc. is a private,
non-profit organization wholly funded by WellPoint, Inc. Through
charitable contributions and programs, the Foundation promotes
WellPoint's inherent commitment to enhance the health and well-being of
individuals and families in communities that WellPoint's affiliate
health plans serve. The Foundation focuses its funding on strategic
initiatives that address and provide innovative solutions to health care
challenges, as well as promoting the Healthy Generations Program, a
multi-generational initiative that targets specific disease states and
medical conditions. These disease states and medical conditions include:
prenatal care in the first trimester, low birth weight babies, cardiac
morbidity rates, long term activities that decrease obesity and increase
physical activity, diabetes prevalence in adult populations, adult
pneumococcal and influenza vaccinations and smoking cessation. The
Foundation also coordinates the company's annual associate giving
campaign and provides a 50 percent match of associates' campaign
pledges. To learn more about the WellPoint Foundation please
visit www.wellpointfoundation.org.
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