Boston Is The Fittest City In Massachusetts: Here's Why

Good for you, Boston. You're looking good.

The American College of Sports Medicine on Tuesday released its annual fittest cities rankings, and it tabbed Boston as the 19th-fittest city in America. The researchers assessed the 100 largest cities based on 33 indicators related to health behaviors, chronic disease and community infrastructure. No other Massachusetts city made the list.

The ranking seems based more in theory than reality, since Boston ranked seventh in community and environment, but just 44th in personal health, though it did rank first in lowest rates of high blood pressure.

The city's ranking was buoyed by a second-place mark in parks within a 10-minute walk - likely due to Boston's relatively small size among large cities - and ranked eighth in biking. It also ranked second in people walking or biking to work, third in using public transportation and fourth in walk score.

It was also seventh in farmers markets.

Meanwhile Arlington, Virginia, earned the title of fittest city in America. The authors highlighted Arlington’s balance of both healthy behaviors and community infrastructure. The Northern Virginia city ranked in the top 10 for 22 of the 33 indicators in the index, with six claiming a No. 1 spot.

Nearby Washington, D.C. also claimed a spot in the top 10, along with both of Minnesota's Twin Cities and two California cities.Here are the 10 fittest cities in America, according to the report:

1. Arlington, VA
2. Seattle, WA
3. Minneapolis, MN
4. San Francisco, CA
5. Madison, WI
6. Washington, D.C.
7. St. Paul, MN
8. Irvine, CA
9. Denver, CO
10. Portland, OR

The fitness rankings show a community’s personal health habits and how well officials encourage people to stay fit, Stephen Friedhoff, chief clinical officer for the Anthem Foundation, which funded the report, said in a news release.

“For example, we added new social determinant of health indicators to this year’s report and learned that some cities have work to do in the areas of pedestrian safety and air quality, which are both critical to overall wellness,” said Friedhoff. “Four of the 10 worst cities for pedestrian fatalities are in Florida, and we know air pollution rivals car accidents and tobacco when it comes to causing deaths.”

Regular exercise can lower an adult’s risk of an early death, the researchers said, as well as for heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, breast cancer, colon cancer and even risk of falls. It can be just as beneficial for peoples’ mental well-being, the report said, and housing values can increase the more run-, walk- and bike-friendly a community is.

Among the report’s other key findings: California, Arizona and Nevada were home to the 21 cities with the worst air quality; on average, 75 percent of adults in all cities were physically active in the previous month; and 97 percent of residents in the top 10 fittest cities were located within a 10-minute walk to a park.

Patch national staffer Dan Hampton contributed to this report.