The Greater Hartford metropolitan area is the 11th fittest city in the nation this year, an improvement of one spot since 2014, according to the American College of Sports Medicine.
The Hartford-East Hartford-West Hartford metropolitan area came in just ahead of Salt Lake City, Utah, and just behind San Jose, Calif. in ACSM’s American Fitness Index of the nation’s largest 50 metropolitan areas. The top 10 in order were Washington, D.C., Minneapolis, San Diego, San Francisco, Sacramento, Denver, Portland, Ore., Boston, and San Jose.
The index scored Hartford a 64.8 out of 100 with areas of excellence including low death rates for cardiovascular disease and diabetes, high percentages of parkland and recreational amenities like ball diamonds and golf courses, and the state requirement for physical education in schooling. Some of Hartford’s areas of improvement included a 28 percent obesity rate, high percentages of people with asthma, low use of public transportation, and low parks-related expenditures per capita.
This year’s score was an improvement over 2014 when Hartford came in No. 12 in the rankings, the city’s lowest since it was included in the rankings in 2009. In its seven years on the list, Hartford ranked No. 11 in 2009, No. 9 in 2010, No. 7 in 2011, No. 5 in 2012, No .9 in 2013, No. 12 in 2014, and No. 11 in 2015.
