America's 10 Fittest Cities Led by Arlington, Virginia

America's 10 fittest cities have been revealed, with Arlington, Virginia, leading the pack in healthy living while Oklahoma City sits at the bottom of the list, The Denver Business Journal noted.

For the past 11 years the American College of Sports Medicine and the Anthem Foundation have produced the annual Fitness Index, which has ranked 50 U.S. cities in terms of fitness and health, but this year the list was expanded to include 100 cities.

According to researchers, Arlington was a top scorer because of its low smoking rate and high reports of "excellent" health compared to the other 99 cities in the Fitness Index.

What earned the city its coveted title is its community's healthy behavior as well as the city's infrastructure, which promoted health and fitness, according to a news release about the index.

Minneapolis came in a close second on the list, followed by Washington, D.C.; Madison, Wisconsin; Portland, Oregon; Seattle; and Denver.

The Fitness Index comes as the U.S. is in the grips of an obesity pandemic.

Barbara Ainsworth, chair of the American Fitness Index Board noted that obesity rates having risen by 40 percent while related medical costs have exceeded $147 billion yearly.

"Along with dietary changes, exercise is one of the best ways people can turn this around; unfortunately, only 22 percent of Americans are meeting national physical activity guidelines," she said in the news release.

Obesity is creeping in to all aspects of the U.S., including the military.

Recently, a public health report found that physically fit Army recruits are getting harder to find and that increased rates of obesity, physical inactivity, and chronic disease may pose a threat to U.S. military readiness and national security.

In light of this, Ainsworth hoped that, through the expanded Fitness Index rankings, "more citizens and government leaders will be informed and motivated in developing strategies to improve health and fitness opportunities and modify the infrastructures to support them."

The top 10 fittest cities, as rated by the American College of Sports Medicine and the Anthem Foundation, are as follows:

1. Arlington, Virginia — 77.7
2. Minneapolis, Minnesota — 77.2
3. Washington, D.C. — 74.0
4. Madison, Wisconsin — 72.4
5. Portland, Oregon — 71.6
6. Seattle, Washington — 71.5
7. Denver, Colorado — 70.2
8. St. Paul, Minnesota — 70.2
9. San Jose, California — 69.8
10. Boise, Idaho — 69.2

The least fit cities are as follows:

• Oklahoma City, Oklahoma — 26.3
• Indianapolis, Indiana — 26.9
• Louisville, Kentucky — 27.0
• Detroit, Michigan — 30.0
• Toledo, Ohio — 30.3
• Wichita, Kansas — 32.5
• Fresno, California — 33.0
• Gilbert, Arizona — 33.5
• North Las Vegas, Nevada — 34.0
• Tulsa, Oklahoma — 34.4
• Winston-Salem, North Carolina — 34.5

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