MILWAUKEE -- Madison ranked #4 and Milwaukee ranked #34 in the American College of Sports Medicine's 2018 Fitness Index, a study ranking the 100 largest U.S. cities in terms of their fitness.
The goal of ACSM's study is to promote fitness and health in the US.
Madison received an overall score of 72.4 and Milwaukee received a score of 55.8.
Cities received their total scores based in two categories; personal health and community/environment.
Personal health consisted of health behaviors and health outcomes. These categories considered the percentage within the community who smoke, get 7 or more hours of sleep a day, consume 3 or more vegetables and 2 or more fruits daily, and meet aerobic and strength activity guidelines. The health outcomes from these behaviors include people who have asthma, have high blood pressure, have heart disease, have diabetes, and have good mental and physical health.
Community/environment consisted of built environment, recreational facilities, policy/funding. These categories included things like how many farmers' markets, dog parks, playgrounds, basketball hoops a city had. Additionally, this category considered how many people use public transportation, how many bike or walk to work, and the city's physical education policies.
Madison ranked #1 in several categories. They had the largest percentages of 'any exercise last 30 days,' 'sleeping 7+ hours,' and they had the largest amounts of park units, basketball hoops, and playgrounds. Additionally, Madison had the smallest percentage of people with high blood pressure and who have had strokes.
Milwaukee ranked #4 in the percentage of people who eat more than two pieces of fruit a day.
Top 5 fitness cities:
- Arlington, VA
- Minneapolis, MN
- Washington, D.C.
- Madison, WI
- Portland, OR
The study also found that 77.5% of adults reported completing physical activity in the last month and only 18% of adults reported eating more than three servings of vegetables a day.
