No surprise here, but Denver, city of marathon runners, CrossFit gyms, rock climbers and cyclists, is among the fittest in the nation, according to a new report.
Denver is ranked fourth on the , released May 28 by the with support from the .
Topping the annual list is Washington, D.C., followed by Minneapolis-St. Paul and Portland, Ore. San Francisco rounds out the top five.
Scores reflect preventative health behaviors, such as exercise and diet, as well as levels of chronic disease and community resources that support physical activity.
Where did the Denver metro area do well? Physical activity rates, obesity, farmers markets per capita, use of public transportation, walkability and park-related expenditures, among others, according to the report.
We could be eating more veggies, though.
Denver scored below the target goal in vegetable consumption (three or more servings per day), as well as smoking rates and percentage of land area dedicated as parks.
Ryan Puckett, a spokesman for the American Fitness Index, said even a health-conscious city like Denver can have room for improvement when it comes to health and fitness. A total of 31 data points went into the rankings, all of which come from publicly available sources.
“We try to look at this as each city comparing itself to itself,” Puckett said. “It’s like improving your time if you’re a runner. I did this last race in one hour. Next time, I want to do it in 58 minutes.”
2014 American Fitness Index
1. Washington, D.C., 77.3
2. Minneapolis-St. Paul, 73.5
3. Portland, Ore., 72.1
4. Denver, 71.7
5. San Francisco, 71.0
6. San Jose, Calif., 69.4
7. Seattle, 69.3
8. San Diego, 69.2
9. Boston, Mass., 69.1
10. Sacramento, Calif., 66.9
11. Salt Lake City, 65.7
12. Hartford, Conn., 63.8
13. Raleigh, N.C., 61.5
14. Austin, Texas, 60.6
15. Chicago, 56.6
16. Atlanta, 56.0
17. Pittsburgh, 54.8
18. Cincinnati, 54.5
19. Los Angeles, 53.4
20. Philadelphia, 52.9
21. Richmond, Va., 52.3
22. Virginia Beach, Va., 52.0
23. Providence, R.I., 51.6
24. New York, 51.5
25. Baltimore, 50.8
26. Miami, 49.0
27. Charlotte, N.C., 48.1
28. Riverside, Calif., 47.5
29. Buffalo, N.Y., 47.2
30. Jacksonville, Fla., 46.6
31. Tampa, Fla., 46.0
32. Milwaukee, 45.7
33. Cleveland, 45.4
34. Kansas City, Mo., 45.1
35. Houston, 44.0*
36. Phoenix, 44.0*
37. Las Vegas, 43.7
38. Dallas, 42.6
39. New Orleans, 42.4
40. Columbus, Ohio, 41.3*
41. St. Louis, 41.3*
42. Orlando, Fla., 40.8
43. Detroit, 37.3
44. Birmingham, Ala., 35.9
45. San Antonio, 35.6
46. Nashville, Tenn., 32.5
47. Indianapolis, 32.3
48. Oklahoma City, 31.6
49. Louisville, Ky., 25.7
50. Memphis, Tenn., 24.8
* Scores have been rounded to the nearest tenth of a point, resulting in some apparent ties; rankings were based on the full scores
Emilie Rusch: 303-954-2457, erusch@denverpost.com or twitter.com/emilierusch
