The Twin Cities surpassed Washington DC as the fittest city according to the American College of Sports Medicine’s 2011 list of America’s fittest cities. WebMD provided a great summary of the report which included this paragraph:

Even though the Twin Cities reduced park-related expenditures in 2011, the area’s percentage of parkland is still above average, and so is its percentage of recreational facilities other than swimming pools, according to a report from the American College of Sports Medicine, which was made possible by a grant from the Indianapolis-based WellPoint Foundation.

It is no surprise that Portland made the top 5, since Minneapolis and Portland swap the best biking city designation.  And actually none of the top 5 are that surprising.  Here is the list (with their score and 2010 rank):

If you want to see a pdf of the Twin Cities data you can click here. Other cities are available at the American Fitness Index website.

Here is a list of the Twin Cities strengths:

• Lower percent unemployed
• Higher median household income
• Lower percentage of households below poverty level
• Higher percent of any physical activity or exercise in the last 30 days
• Higher percent physically active at least moderately
• Lower percent currently smoking
• Higher percent in excellent or very good health
• Lower percent with asthma
• Lower percent with angina or coronary heart disease
• Lower percent with diabetes
• Lower death rate for cardiovascular disease
• Lower death rate for diabetes
• Higher percent of city land area as parkland
• More farmers’ markets per capita
• Higher percent using public transportation to work
• Higher percent bicycling or walking to work
• More ball diamonds per capita
• More dog parks per capita
• More park playgrounds per capita
• More golf courses per capita
• More park units per capita
• More recreation centers per capita
• More tennis courts per capita
• Higher park-related expenditures per capita
• Higher level of state requirement for Physical  Education classes