For the eighth year in a row, Arlington, Virginia, has ranked in the top spot as the fittest city in the U.S. in the American College of Sports Medicine's (ACSM) annual American Fitness Index.
In fact, the top four cities of the 100 on the list remained the same as last year: Arlington, Virginia; Washington, D.C.; Seattle and San Francisco.
There were some notable changes in the list this year. Denver moved up two spots on the index compared to its placements last year, rounding out the top five fittest cities.
Of the 100 cities, 94 had an increase in aerobic activity among their residents.
Richmond, Virginia, reported the largest increase in residents meeting aerobic and strength activity guidelines this year at 18.8%, the index stated.
Plano, Texas and Fort Wayne, Indiana, had the largest increases in aerobic activity overall, according to the index.
RELATED STORY | Study warns about significant mental health risks of giving smartphones to pre-teens
The index weighs over 30 different indicators to compare which cities are the fittest, including things like access to healthy foods, air quality, recreational facilities and individual health behaviors.
There were two new indicators added to the index — trail miles and splashpads — and the index was updated to include pickleball and dual-use courts under the tennis court section.
The list noted that there was a decrease in the rates of smoking among cities, dropping an average of 2.6% in 74 of the listed cities.
However, there were some indicators on the index that moved in an unhealthy direction — air quality, food insecurity and reports of excellent or very good health. The index said declines in air quality can be attributed to wildfires and droughts.
