“According to the 2011 American Fitness Index (AFI) data report, “Health and Community Fitness Status of the 50 Largest Metropolitan Areas,” which evaluated the most populous city areas to identify the healthiest and fittest places in the United States, Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington edged out previous leader Washington, D.C. for the top spot this year.”
When I first read the press release (thank you Leslie!), I don’t know which shocked me more – that Washington D.C. was #1 last year (Last I heard in my 1990’s current events class, they were all crime-ridden and beset with snipers and people like Linda Tripp, none of which are at all good for anyone’s blood pressure) or that Minneapolis got the #1 spot this year after the year we’ve had. In case you don’t follow Midwestern weather reports, let me summarize: last summer we had more tornadoes than any state in the nation, last fall we had record flooding, this winter we had the coldest day on record and the 2nd largest snow fall in history and so far this spring has been one the coldest and wettest ever seen – all facts that I have spent the last year whining about. Loudly. (Also weird: that the report lumps Bloomington in with Minneapolis and St. Paul – that’s like putting Chino in with Los Angeles and Long Beach.)
If anything us Minnesotans deserve an award for being the #1 most patient state in the Union.
Although I suppose it makes sense – what with all the snow shovelling, sand bagging, canoe rowing, basement stairs running (and Auntie Em joking), tree limb hauling, generator lugging and shivering, by golly of course we’re the healthiest and fittest state in the Nation! You know how they say that taking a cold bath every day is good for you because it increases (good metabolism enhancing) brown fat? (Okay, so now you do.) Well living in Minnesota is like one long cold shower. It sure sucks being in it but I guess it’s good for us. Or something.
Anyhow, this got me thinking about what criteria make a place “healthy and fit”. Again, from the AFI, “Several factors contributed to the Twin Cities’ ranking, including a relatively low smoking rate, an above-average percentage of exercising residents and moderate-to-low rates of chronic health concerns such as obesity, asthma, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. While the area reduced park-related expenditures this year, its percentage of parkland is still above average, as is the percentage of recreational facilities (other than swimming pools). Farmers markets in the area also increased this year, indicating a trend in healthier eating.”
That last bit clearly shows they have never been to a Minneapolis farmer’s market in the winter. You can buy (frozen) meat, (frozen) dairy, and (chilled) eggs. Also 27 varieties of beer. But they’re right about everything else. And duh, of course we have less swimming pools than average; when you can only use them during the 3 Electrical Storm months they’re not exactly cost effective. For as much as I complain about the weather, people here are really dedicated to living healthy. Whether it’s the lingering Scandinavian sensibilities (and adorable accents! You should hear them say “no” here – even that words sounds nice when extended to 6 syllables inflected with a lilt.) or just the effect of living in a place that still practices “survival of the fittest”, Minnesotans have figured out how to make exercise and healthy food accessible to pretty much everyone.
What is unique about where you live that helps you be healthier and fitter? If you’re in the US, how did your city score? Do you really want to live to 100 if it means you have to take an ice bath every day? Really??
Holla to the Chino – LA – Long Beach reference!!! I was just in Chino today & live nearby. 😀 I’ll pass on the ice baths, thank you very much. And if you wouldn’t mind finding out who is holding the sun hostage and handing over the sunshine, that would be very nice.. :] :]
I live in the land of CRAZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZY health (WOOT! Austin!) and growing up somewhere less healthy I cant wait to see if and how this impacts my girl.
Everyone here is always moving shaking working out walking running biking.
ALWAYS.
**whispers** yes it’s a bit much at times 😉
The closest city to me (which is still 3 hours away) would be Richmond, VA… so #12! Not bad. If you go 1 hour further, I can be #2 though – so let’s roll with that.
It’s funny, when I read about all the weather you guys have, my immediate response was “of course they’re fit! They have to stay in shape in case they need to bolt from a natural disaster!” 🙂 Since the world didn’t end this past weekend, those skills might be more helpful in 12/2012.
I live right between Houston and Austin. Austin is two hours northwest, and Houston is two hours southeast. So it’s weird that Austin is number 16, while Houston is 42. Ouch. Some of the things on the explanations for both cities amused me though. Like, it basically said that most people drive to work (fewer people walk/bike or take public transport). Well, this is Texas. You pretty much have to own a car. Everything is so big and so spread out. Most cities in Texas have really poor public transportation (or none at all). And if you ever ask a Texan for directions, they’ll tell you, “Oh, about 30 minutes that way.” We measure distance in time, here in Texas. 😛
Okay, honestly, Calgary has a lot of vices- the two worst are horrible public transit (so pretty much everyone, except me, drives), and their love of beef. I think a little beef love is good, but….most restaurants have exclusively meat-laden dishes. Take note Calgary restaurants: your token “spaghetti with pomodoro sauce” is not pleasing to the vegetarians, I also do not like the pancetta all over your salads, nor the fact that you always fry things in duck fat.
But, I do think this is the healthiest city I’ve lived in for a while for a couple of reasons. First is the mountains! You will be kicked out of the city if you don’t like the mountains (…or so I’ve been led to believe). It’s practically sacrilege if you don’t make it to the mountains at least once a month- hiking, skiing, etc. Second reason is that this city has a lot of young professionals (the oil industry needs lots of engineers) – if you’re young, and highly educated, there is a pretty good chance that you hit the gym, or go running at least once in a while (at least according to the NY Times). However, the general Type-A-ness of this city, means that people also taking their exercise very seriously, which makes me a little afraid of being mowed over on the running paths.
If being in the cold and the increase in brown fat was really that all beneficial, why does all of Canada not have the most amazing metabolism? I think the ice baths are not useful. And even still, I’m cold for 8 months of the year, there’s no way that I’d take ice baths during the other 4.
After looking at the map I am guessing they didn’t consider any town in my 5 state northwest/midwest area big enough to be a “city”. I know we have more cows than people but come on! 😉
I had to laugh at your description of Minnesota weather. After it stopped snowing in MAY (after our record cold winter), we are experiencing a 100 year flood here, with more rain headed this way and the snowpack hasn’t even melted. Our government officials keeps saying, “the worst is yet to come”…looking forward to that thank you very much.
Shout out to Nikiki from a fellow big state (although not Texas) resident! We measure distance in time as well. Always throws off tourists when they ask for directions 😉
Woo-hoo! #6! I have to say I’m a bit surprised that we bypassed San Diego, as it seems everyone there is constantly running, cycling, walking or swimming. (I used to go rollerblading down at Mission Bay all the time, and it was lovely!)
I can’t say I’m too surprised about L.A. though. Between the smog, sitting in traffic for hours on end, and the sheer desperation of all the unemployed actors (myself formerly included), it can be a high-stress environment. I spent a lot of time in both Chico and Long beach, and they are a heck of a lot more fun than L.A. proper!
Finally, I’d like to think I’m hearty enough to survive a winter in Minnesota. (And I LOVE the accent!!!!!!)
But I’m really not.
So, hats off to you!
Living in MN is definitely like taking a long cold shower. I’m surprised that we are the healthiest — only because I would think people in nicer climates (CA?) would be more active outside. But we definitely get exercise shoveling and snowblowing!
Yeah how did Bloomington sneak in there? Just because they have MOA doesn’t mean they are part of the big cities!
I’ve lived in Minnesota my entire life, so I can attest to how accurate this post is. I have to admit that even I am getting sick of our weather lately. Strangely enough, I don’t think I could live anywhere else, though.
My car and closet are practically the same thing because extra clothes, shoes, jackets are needed at all times because we NEVER know what the weather will do even 30 minutes from now! In fact, I don’t dare take my snow boots out of the car yet, with the freeze advisories in effect for northern Minnesota this weekend!
Charlotte, I have to give you credit for not high-tailing it out of Minnesota! I can’t imagine how hard it would be to deal with this weather when you’ve lived elsewhere before! I’ve known many from other states who lasted less than a year in Minnesota before deciding the winters were too brutal for them to stay.
My hometown of Los Angeles ranked 41st.
We have plenty of good weather, so we ought to be able to get out and exercise. But we also rank low on the number of parks and such. And the report notes one of our “challenges” is a “higher percentange of days when mental health was not good….” That’s just a nice way of saying we’re a bunch of crazy whackos.
Pretty accurate, really.
I live in Edmonton, Canada, but I’ve always had a soft spot for MN since my ancestors came from Argyle (I think they were displaced Acadians). You guys also understand cold and winter. We had a long and nasty winter and spring (summer?) still seems undecided. What I really want is something on my snow shovel that tells me how many hundreds (thousands?) of pounds of the white stuff I’ve I’ve lifted and thrown.
I have some friends from Minnesota and I was impressed by some of their weather stories. After this I’m even more impressed! I’m pretty sure I would just curl up and die. I used to walk around San Diego in heavy coats.
Well, the city nearest me right now is #6. The nearest city where I’m moving is 24. Guess it makes sense. I already knew I was going to have to trade my public transportation commute with one via car.
Dallas ranked 39…which doesn’t suprise me…it’s so hot most of the time that people pass out before they can finish their workout! haha …I wish we had better biking/walking trails though…probably my only complaint 🙁
I don’t know, I was stuck going round and round on Dupont Circle in DC and there was a yoga class going on in the center that totally distracted me. Outdoor yoga is awesome!
Seriously, DC is a pretty healthy city. It’s really not all that violent, but I live in Baltimore, so anything is less violent than Baltimore.
Funny post about MN! I grew up in Baudette MN on the Canadian border. Sometimes my Mom made me wear double coats when I walked to school.
Anyway, my kids think it is hilarious how I say the word, “donut.” One day they begged me to say it. I would say, “donut,” with the triple long “o” sound that Minnesotans use, and they would burst out laughing and make me say it again and again, laughing at me the whole time.
🙂 Marion
Salt Lake came in 15th and I live north of there. It does kind of surprise me though. You have people who LOVE the outdoors here and are par-taking in all of the seasons activities. Skiing and snowboarding, which I no longer par-take in, see the wrist, hiking, biking, water sports and all the others which we can do here, we do have most of them, surprisingly. You have your die hards, a few in the middle, and then those who want nothing to do with the outdoors. I think we have more people who come here for the activities than those who actually take advantage of them who live here. I am sure the weather has something to do with it. Lets see, the beginning of May we were in the upper 70s to about 80. Now, it is in the upper 40s. I had to turn on my heater again today! The joke here is if you do not like the weather, stick around for a few hours or days and it will change.
I enjoy being outside playing, especially with my two dogs. They love to hike and play and we never spend enough time hiking.
Sometime I do the cold shower thing for the brown fat advantage, us crazy Utah people. If it is not cold enough outside, lets take a cold shower!
Who needs swimming pools in the land of 10,000 lakes?
Buffalo-need I say more? Trust me, take a walk in any public place and you will be surprised we are only #23. I was surprised we ranked higher than Dallas. We are the original home of the chicken wing. Let’s fry something, smother it in butter and hot sauce, then dip it in blue cheese dressing. MMM-mmm. We score well above average in heart attacks and cancer. We do have plenty of outdoor recreation available, skiing, snowshoeing, swimming, etc, but most of those places are not overcrowded. Oh, and Bjbella5, we went from torrential rain to record heat for this weekend. We set a record rainfall for May. Even our horses are fat now.
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