CMHC Pulse Blog

Exercise has received a lot more stage time in the recent years, especially due to the enormous focus on nutrition and the current obesity epidemic in our country.

We may personally feel like more gyms are packed and the lines are longer at grocery stores selling organic foods. It is no lie that people are more conscious of diet and staying active.

But is this just where YOU live?

An interesting article surfaced in the New York Daily News which covered exercise based on region; specifically cities in the US. A 2015-2016 Gallup and Sharecare poll showed that across 189 cities in the U.S., a person’s exercise frequency had nothing to do with where they lived.

While we would most likely agree that out of the 350,000 people polled, the ones living in metropolitan areas would be more likely to exercise a lot more, this poll proved us all wrong!

At least we were right about our earlier points:

  1. The poll showed that regions with higher rates of regular exercise also had less chronic health issues like heart attack, diabetes, obesity, and depression. Exercise = less disease, less obesity, better health.
  2. 53% of Americans were classified as “regular exercisers” in 2016. This was the highest rate on record since the same company ran the first U.S. poll in 2008. So we are on the right track!

The cities with the higher volume of exercisers are argued to have made routine exercise MORE possible for their citizens than other cities. Wouldn’t you be more likely to exercise if your city had more safe, livable, bike-able, run-able and walkable spaces accessible to you?

Now we know you are curious…who won? Who lost?

Boulder, Colorado (population of 108,000 approximately) had the highest percentage of regular exercising citizens. These people exercise three or more days a week, for at least 30 minutes a day.

NYC was almost at the end of the list (167 out of 189) and as far as who lost: Hickory, N.C. with 42%!

Are you wondering about your city? U.S. Cities ranked by Exercise Rate

New York Daily News. The surprising cities with the highest and lowest rates of exercise.
http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/surprising-cities-highest-lowest-rates-exercise-article-1.3509233.
September 20, 2017. Accessed October 5, 2017.

Subscribe

Sign up to receive updates on educational opportunities, complimentary content, exclusive discounts, and more.