Pittsburgh named among the most fit cities in the United States, American College of Sports Medicine finds

INDIANAPOLIS (KDKA) – For the 17th year, the American College of Sports Medicine released its American Fitness Index rankings of the 100 largest cities in the United States and Pittsburgh finds itself near the top of the list. 

The ACSM Fitness Index used 33 evidence-based indicators that determine health behaviors and outcomes and Pittsburgh landed at 17 on their rankings. 

“As an organization that is committed to, connected to, and invested in our communities, the Elevance Health Foundation has pledged to strengthen our communities and address health inequities in our country. Similarly, ACSM works to extend and enrich lives through the power of movement,” said Shantanu Agrawal, M.D., chief health officer of Elevance Health. “The Fitness Index is the intersection between our aspirational paths, bringing our unified visions to life as we provide practical resources to communities.” 

The results found that more Americans are walking or biking to work, park expenditures have increased, and food security has seen slight improvements. However, it did find that residents in the 100 largest cities are not exercising enough to meet ACSM standards and residents getting seven or more hours of sleep per night is down. 

ACSM recommends at least 150 minutes per week, about 22 minutes per day, of moderate aerobic activity and muscle-strengthening activity twice per week. 

“Post-pandemic, Americans are not as active as we would like,” said ACSM President Stella Volpe. “To help facilitate this, local community leaders must step up and make bold spending choices, policy decisions, and infrastructure changes to increase opportunities for residents to be physically active and healthy. The Fitness Index is a trusted road map showing sound strategies for communities to improve.”  

Pittsburgh finds itself ranked 17th, just above Chicago and right behind St. Petersburg, Florida. Topping the list is Arlington, Virginia, Washington D.C., and Seattle. 

You can see the full list as well as more recommendations on the ACSM website at this link.