Minneapolis and St. Paul are Two of the Fittest Cities in America

If you've seen the movie Wall-E, you know what a future might look like if you don't stay active and continue to make terrible eating choices. I worry that one day that it very well could be our future.

With technology doing so much for us, and 'us' doing much less for ourselves, we are becoming more unhealthy. Why run when we can walk? Why walk when we can hop on a segway? Why hop on a segway when we can float in a hover pod?

But maybe it doesn't look that bad after all.

American Fitness Index did a study on 100 cities in the United States. Minneapolis ranked 3rd overall. Personal Health rank was 5th, and Community + Environmental rank was #2. St. Paul was 12th overall. Personal Health ranking was only 34th that list, but Community + Environmental ranking was number 1.

...some that experience weather extremes like Minneapolis, MN (#3), Madison, WI (#4) and Denver, CO (#8). These cities use a combination of approaches to make year-round physical activity accessible for their residents regardless of the weather. - AmericanFitnessIndex.org

How Well Did The Twins Cities Do?

Here is how Minneapolis and St. Paul did in some of the categories the American Fitness Index.

St. Paul:

• Ball Diamonds: #1 (5.2 per 10,000 residents)
• Community Environment score: #2
• Parks Within 10-minute Walk: #4

Minneapolis:

• Bike Score: #1
• Walk or Bike to Work: #7
• Parks within 10-minute walk: #8
• Park expenditure/resident adjusted: $263 ($99 was the average)

How Did They Decide?:

The formula they use to determine all this made my head hurt just looking at it.

[American Fitness Index]