Healthy Eating in America’s 100 Largest Cities

The ACSM American Fitness Index, supported by the Anthem Foundation, ranks the 100 largest cities in America on a variety of personal and community health indicators, including number of farmers markets and fruit & vegetable consumption. The 2020 rankings  revealed that these cities average 18.7 farmers markets per 1,000,000 residents, with Washington, D.C.,  topping  the …

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Arlington, Virginia, es Nombrada “La Ciudad Más en Forma” en 2020 American Fitness Index® Ranking de los 100 mejores

La pandemia de COVID-19, la investigación subraya la importancia de la actividad física, la infraestructura en la batalla por la salud de la comunidad Lisa Ramage (317) 352-3847 or Lramage@acsm.org (American College of Sports Medicine) Mike Fulton (301) 651-2508 or MikeF@asheragency.com (Asher Agency) Leslie Porras (202) 508-7891 or Leslie.Porras@anthem.com (Anthem Foundation) Indianapolis (14 de julio, …

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The American Fitness Index in 2020 | The Essential Nature of Parks

child climbing at a park

For more than a decade the ACSM American Fitness Index® has provided an annual snapshot of community fitness for some of the largest cities and metro areas in the United States. From the start, the Fitness Index acknowledged the importance of parks, recreation facilities and assets like playgrounds, tennis courts and swimming pools. Not only …

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Take to the Trails!

woman running on park trail

The ancient curse “may you live in interesting times!” seems fitting right now. While the stay-at-home order has constrained our normally hectic lives, we have been able to spend more time with our families and participate in activities we didn’t take time to do before, like going for walks. Here in the U.S., the COVID-19 …

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Intentional Daily Movement | Coping with the COVID-19 Pandemic

My name is Olivia Affuso and I am a streak runner. I have run at least one mile every day for the last 600 consecutive days. This may seem like a lot, but there are people like Jon Sutherland who has been running every day for more than 50 years! Now, that, is a lot …

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2020 Fitness Index Release to be delayed

people in crosswalk american fitness index

The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), in collaboration with philanthropic partner, Anthem Foundation, will delay the release of the 2020 American Fitness Index rankings until later this year. The Fitness Index evaluates and celebrates America’s 100 largest cities and their efforts to support healthy, active lifestyles.   Physical activity has always been one of …

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Physical Activity | Benefits Year-Round

physical activity american fitness index rankings blog

The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) American Fitness Index is one of the most credible and reliable assessments of individual and community fitness across the United States. The indicators included in the report are timely, relevant, and valuable to address both unique and common factors between cities. In 2019, The Fitness Index added four …

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Disparities in the Quality of Physical Activity Environments

blog, health disparities in built environments

There are race, ethnic and socioeconomic status (SES) disparities in physical activity. The disparities differ by domain of physical activity (e.g., occupation, transportation), but there is consistent evidence that leisure time physical activity is lower among individuals with lower income and members of most race and ethnic minority groups. One possible explanation of these disparities …

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America’s Most Dangerous Cities for Pedestrians

male pedestrain about to cross a busy intersection

Across America’s 100 largest cities an average of  2.2 pedestrians were killed per 100,000 residents in the last year.   With a total population of 64,504,498  in those cities,  that means approximately 1,419 lives were lost. A variety of factors may contribute to pedestrian fatalities, including distracted driving, a lack of proper lighting, inadequate sidewalks and …

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