If you’re considering a move to a new town, and a healthy, active lifestyle is important to you, this article from Richie Bernardo of WalletHub is a must-read. In order to identify the cities that encourage an active lifestyle, WalletHub’s analysts compared the 100 most populated U.S. cities across two key dimensions, “Budget & Participation” and “Sports Facilities & Outdoor Environment” – based on the idea that the accessibility of public facilities mainly determines how well the population can engage in physical activity.
Topping the list of best cities for an active lifestyle was Scottsdale, Arizona. Other cities in the top 20 include:
- Orlando, FL
- Tampa, FL
- Minneapolis, MN
- Tucson, AZ
- Henderson, NV
- Irvine, CA
- Atlanta, GA
- Reno, NV
- Sacramento, CA
- Denver, CO
- Las Vegas, NV
- Portland, OR
- St. Paul, MN
There’s a reason why bodybuilding experts invented the concept of “cheat day”: Even the fittest of the fit and the strictest of dieters sometimes need to live a little.
But sometimes we live too much. The average person in the U.S. consumes more than 4,500 calories and 229 grams of fat on Thanksgiving Day alone. And as we struggle to forgive ourselves for that last holiday binge of 2015, grocery stores are already tempting us with Valentine’s Day sweets — and it’s only the first week of the new year. Those who’ve ever traveled during the holidays also know how tough it can be to squeeze in an exercise routine, let alone some cardio.
It’s no wonder “lose weight and get fit” consistently ranks both the No. 1 New Year’s resolution in America and the No. 1 most commonly broken. We all have a responsibility to stay healthy and fit. But some of us have a harder time kicking old bad habits because of where we live, which simply fail to promote an active lifestyle.
WalletHub’s analysts compared the 100 most populated cities based on 24 key metrics to identify those that help their residents stick to their health goals. Our data set ranges from the average monthly fitness club fee to the number of sports clubs per capita.
