Ten fittest cities according to American Fitness Institute: Is Denver getting flabbier?

Back in February, we shared a list of America's ten fittest cities as compiled by Sharecare.com -- a roster on which Denver finished first. Now, however, the American Fitness Institute has issued rankings of its own, and while Denver finishes high, it's definitely not number one. Is Denver slipping down...

By Michael Roberts

June 4, 2014

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Back in February, we shared a list of America's ten fittest cities as compiled by Sharecare.com -- a roster on which Denver finished first. Now, however, the American Fitness Institute has issued rankings of its own, and while Denver finishes high, it's definitely not number one. Is Denver slipping down the fitness scale? Or is this an example of how results can differ from one study to the next? After all, three cities cited by AFI weren't even mentioned by Sharecare.com, including the top two.

Count down the former's photo-illustrated top ten below, featuring AFI data and list comparisons -- and click here to see the complete (and massive) American Fitness Institute report.

Number 10: Sacramento Total score: 66.9Sharecare.com fitness ranking: Number 5 Number 9: Boston Total score: 69.1Sharecare.com fitness ranking: Number 4 Continue to keep counting down the American Fitness Institute's list of the ten fittest cities. Number 8: San Diego Total score: 69.2Sharecare.com fitness ranking: Number 3 Number 7: Seattle Total score: 69.3Sharecare.com fitness ranking: Number 6 Continue to keep counting down the American Fitness Institute's list of the ten fittest cities. Number 6: San Jose, California Total score: 69.4Sharecare.com fitness ranking: Outside the top ten Number 5: San Francisco Total score: 71.0Sharecare.com fitness ranking: Number 2 Continue to keep counting down the American Fitness Institute's list of the ten fittest cities. Number 4: Denver Total score: 71.7Sharecare.com fitness ranking: Number 1 Number 3: Portland, Oregon Sharecare.com fitness ranking: Number 7 Continue to keep counting down the American Fitness Institute's list of the ten fittest cities. Number 2: Minneapolis Total score: 73.5Sharecare.com fitness ranking: Outside the top ten Number 1: Washington, D.C. Total score: 77.3Sharecare.com fitness ranking: Outside the top ten

Send your story tips to the author, Michael Roberts.

More from our Things to Do archive circa February 5: "Photos: America's ten fittest cities -- and where Denver finishes."

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Michael Roberts began his career with Westword in 1990 as music editor. In 1999, he took on a new role, full-time media reporter, as author of a column called The Message. In 2008, he became the lead writer for Westword's news blog, The Latest Word, a position he held until January 2023. Michael continues to freelance for Westword, covering everything from business to sports and the media; he also contributes to Jazziz, a national music magazine. He holds a bachelor's degree from what is now Colorado Mesa University and master's degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Northwestern University.

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