There is incontrovertible evidence linking poor air quality to adverse health outcomes. This is especially true for people with pre-existing conditions such as heart disease, stroke, asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. However, healthy people are at risk too. Exposure to air pollution has been linked to a higher risk of developing asthma, and recent …
The Anthem Foundation is embedded in communities across the country where it supports programs that build awareness about the importance of active lifestyles and healthy behaviors. One of the many ways we are helping to increase awareness and improve overall health is through our partnership with the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). Since 2006, …
Since the creation of the ACSM American Fitness Index®, the data team constantly looks for ways to improve the rankings. Also, as data sources change the information they gather, we must make changes in the indicators that are used. Both improvements and data source changes took effect as we prepared the 2019 Fitness Index rankings. …
Two criticisms of the first decade of the ACSM American Fitness Index®and its annual report were that it was limited to only the 50 most populated cities in the USA and that the entire metropolitan area was counted among the data. These two observations had some merit. Cities protested that a certain suburb was not …
The American College of Sports Medicine launched the American Fitness Index (Fitness Index) in 2008. The Fitness Index ranks the 100 largest cities in the United States according to variables that reflect and affect physical activity, physical fitness, health and quality of life of community members. Public health databases serve to develop the Fitness Index …
In 2008, the US Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) issued the federal government’s first-ever Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans (Guidelines) to help Americans understand the types and amounts of physical activity that offer important health benefits. Given the extensive amount of new information available over the past decade, DHHS released the second edition …
The other day I heard a story about a woman who hated to exercise. She wanted nothing of it: going to the gym, sweating, walking on the treadmill. Boring. No way! She’d heard about the latest 2018 U.S. Physical Activity Guidelines, but had dismissed them as irrelevant to her life. Recently, she stumbled onto an …
Complete Streets. You’ve heard of it, but you’re not exactly sure what it means or how it can benefit your community. Our friends at the National Complete Streets Coalition (NCSC) put together a handy Q&A to help understand some of the basics of Complete Streets. #1 Who is the National Complete Streets Coalition? The National …
It is not surprising that having healthy habits, like walking every day, is one way to fight the holiday bulge. But did you know that it can also keep a little extra padding in your pocketbook? As colder weather sets in many of us look forward to a fun and festive holiday season. This busy …
Anchorage has more public access to park space per city acre than any other state in the United States, and its extremely variable climate presents the unique opportunity of hosting both winter and summer sports. Anchorage, the largest city in the state of Alaska, is surrounded by majestic mountain ranges and covered with forest and …
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