San Diego Ranks 8th in Fit City Index

Of the nation's 50 biggest cities, San Diego ranked No. 8 in terms of residents' fitness in an annual survey released today by the Anthem Blue Cross Foundation and the American College of Sports Medicine.

Based on a 100 point scorecard, San Diego scored 69.2 on the American Fitness Index, while top-ranked Washington, D.C. scored 77.3.

Minneapolis-St. Paul ranked No. 2 and Portland, Denver and San Francisco rounded out the top five in the 7th annual American Fitness Index survey.

San Diego was just ahead of No. 9 Boston and just behind No. 7 Seattle.

The Los Angeles metro area ranked No. 19, just ahead of Philadelphia and behind Cincinnati. Memphis was at the bottom of the list.

"Health advocates and community leaders have come to expect the arrival of the American Fitness Index as an annual check-up regarding their community's health and fitness levels," said Walter Thompson, chair of AFI Advisory Board. "The AFI data report is a snapshot of the state of health in the community and an evaluation of the  infrastructure, community assets and policies that encourage healthy and fit lifestyles. These measures directly affect quality of life in our country's urban areas."

The rankings were based on data from public institutions, such as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and existing research.

—City News Service