Here’s How Charlotte Ranks Among Fittest US Cities: Report

CHARLOTTE, NC — When it comes to the fittest cities in America, Charlotte has some work to do, according to a new report from the American College of Sports Medicine.

ACSM has released their 2018 American Fitness Index rankings, which ranks America's 100 largest cities on their community fitness "using a methodology that includes a composite of health behaviors, chronic diseases, and community infrastructure," states the summary report accompanying the rankings. This is the first year that the rankings have included 100 cities. In the past, it ranked the top 50 metropolitan areas.

Arlington, Virginia was deemed the fittest city in the U.S., followed by Minneapolis and Washington, D.C. Charlotte, by contrast, was ranked No. 59.

Charlotte did rate a mention when it came to the Top 10 Most Active U.S. Cities — it came in No. 5 in the category of “Any Exercise.”

Here’s how North Carolina cities ranked in the report and their overall score:

• Raleigh, NC — No. 18; score: 62.9
• Durham, NC — No. 26; score: 57.2
• Charlotte, NC — No. 59; score: 47.2
• Greensboro, NC — No. 71; score: 42.8
• Winston-Salem, NC — No. 90; score: 34.5

ACSM says that regular physical activity is one of the most important ways for people to both improve and maintain their health, and with obesity rates climbing to 40 percent of adults and obesity related medical costs exceeding $147 billion annually, it's important for cities to develop communities that encourage healthy behavior among residents.

ACSM says they used a rigorous methodology to determine their rankings.

"The 2018 Fitness Index was calculated using 33 indicators from reliable, publicly accessible, and up-to-date sources," the report states. "Indicators were combined to create sub-scores for personal health and community and environment indicators. Individual indicators were weighted relative to their impact on community fitness, converted to ranks, and combined in a straight-forward manner described in the methodology section on the website. The two sub-scores were then combined to form the total score."

Patch Editor Deb Belt contributed

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