Chicago’s got the lake front, Seattle’s got mountains and forests, San Francisco’s got just about anything an exercise enthusiast could ask for, and Washington D.C.’s got plenty public park space for politicians who need an outlet.

So which major metropolitan city boasts the healthiest residents in the U.S.?

San Francisco, the city by the bay, squeaked by Seattle to earn the “fittest city” title from the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and the WellPoint Foundation.

With obesity and obesity-related ills on the rise, governmental and private entities are looking for better ways to educate people about how to live a healthier lifestyle. The ACSM, the largest exercise and sports medicine organization in the world, believes that researching the scope of the problem at the local level is the best way to create nation-wide programs to address them. That’s why they created the American Fitness Index (AFI) — the report that measures different eating habits, exercise habits and access to health care to rank our nation’s cities.

So what will come from San Francisco’s top-dog title? Researchers hope to analyze best and worst practices in all of the cities studied to help come up with solutions that will raise the fitness bar across the States as a whole.

Their report underscores the importance of finding local solutions as obesity is not only unhealthy on an individual level, but ultimately costly for our entire healthcare system. And for the generations of kids who can still grow up with a love of the outdoors, and a healthy, active lifestyle.

Photo taken with Nikon S600 COOLPIX Camera

Technorati Tags: Fittest city, American College of Sports Medicine, ACSM, San Francisco, Seatlle, Chicago, Washington D.C. , fitness policy,

Love This Story? Buzz It Up Here!

Stumble It! Save to del.icio.us Digg Email Facebook