Newswise — INDIANAPOLIS, July 14, 2026 — The gap between America’s healthiest and least healthy cities is growing wider, according to findings from the 2026 ACSM American Fitness Index^® (Fitness Index), released today by the American College of Sports Medicine_® (ACSM) and the Elevance Health Foundation.

The 19th annual report reveals that the nation’s fittest cities consistently combine lower obesity and chronic disease rates with higher physical activity, stronger active transportation, and broad access to parks and recreation infrastructure. Lower-ranked cities continue to struggle with higher obesity, lower activity levels, food insecurity and fewer opportunities to integrate movement into daily life.

The result is two types of cities — one where healthy choices are built into everyday life, and another where structural barriers continue to limit long-term health.

“Where you live increasingly determines how healthy you are,” said Stella Volpe, PhD, FACSM, ACSM-CEP, past president of ACSM and chair of the Fitness Index Advisory Board. “The healthiest cities don’t just encourage exercise — they make movement part of daily life through infrastructure, transportation and community design.”

The Fitness Index evaluates the 100 largest U.S. cities using 35 evidence-based indicators across personal health, community infrastructure and environmental conditions.

Key Findings from the 2026 Fitness Index

Among the clearest divides identified in the data:

• Top-ranked cities report significantly lower obesity rates than lower-ranked cities — often by more than 10 percentage points.
• Residents in top-performing cities are substantially more likely to meet recommended physical activity guidelines.
• Cities ranking highest in the Fitness Index have significantly higher Bike and Walk Scores and more trail miles, as well as increasingly greater rates of biking, walking, and public transit use.
• While park access is now high across many cities, only higher-ranked cities appear to successfully convert access into healthier outcomes.
• Lower-ranked cities continue to show clustering of chronic disease indicators, including obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

“The Fitness Index provides us more than just a ranking of cities; it gives communities the data they need to identify where gaps exist and which indicators have the greatest impact on long-term health,” said Shantanu Agrawal, MD, Chief Health Officer at Elevance Health. “Our longstanding support of the Fitness Index and the insights it provides for communities reflects our commitment to bettering whole health nationwide.”

Arlington Remains No. 1 for Ninth Consecutive Year

For the ninth consecutive year, Arlington, Virginia ranked as America’s fittest city.

The top 10 cities in the 2026 Fitness Index are:

1. Arlington, VA
2. Washington, D.C.
3. Minneapolis, MN
4. Seattle, WA
5. Denver, CO
6. San Francisco, CA
7. Irvine, CA
8. Atlanta, GA
9. Madison, WI
10. Boston, MA

These cities share common traits:

• strong active transportation systems
• high physical activity rates
• broad access to parks and recreation
• and policies that support active lifestyles.

“The cities that consistently rank at the top aren’t succeeding because of one program or one investment,” Volpe said. “They’ve built systems that support healthier living over time. They are the ones creating environments where physical activity can easily become a part of everyday routines.”

Food Insecurity and Air Quality Pose Key Health Concerns

The 2026 Fitness Index also identified worsening trends in food insecurity and continued disparities in environmental conditions.

For the second consecutive year, food insecurity increased nationwide, with 99 of the 100 largest cities reporting higher rates than the previous year. The national average is now above 14% of residents living with food insecurity.

Air quality also varied dramatically across communities. On average, cities experienced good air quality approximately 51% of days annually, with eight cities reporting 10% or fewer days with good air quality. Because nearly 28 million Americans live with asthma, air quality continues to play an increasingly important role in outdoor physical activity and overall community health.

Movers and New Cities

Largest gains in the Fitness Index rankings were:

• Richmond, VA – up 20 spots from #40 to #20
• Charlotte, NC – up 19 spots from #61 to #42
• Virginia Beach, VA – up 18 spots from #79 to #61
• Durham, NC – up 17spots from #66 to #49

Moving down in the rankings were:

• Orlando, FL – down 19 spots from #45 to #65
• Laredo, TX – down 18 spots from #70 to #88
• Jacksonville, FL – down 16 spots from #68 to #84

Based on updated annual census data, three cities – Cape Coral, FL (#62), Hialeah, FL (#67) and Frisco, TX (#32) – were added to the 2026 Fitness Index, replacing Fremont, CA; Norfolk, VA; and Spokane, WA.

Full rankings, city comparison tools and additional resources are available at acsm.org/fitnessindex. Learn more by following us on X: @ACSMNews #100FitCities.

About the American College of Sports Medicine_®

The American College of Sports Medicine_® is the largest sports medicine and exercise science organization in the world, with nearly 50,000 members and certified professionals in more than 100 countries. Together, ACSM is committed to the mission of educating and empowering professionals to advance the science and practice of health and human performance. ACSM advocates for legislation to help the government and health community make physical activity a priority. Learn more at www.acsm.org. 

About Elevance Health Foundation

Elevance Health Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Elevance Health, Inc. The Foundation works to advance health equity by focusing on improving the health of the socially vulnerable through partnerships and programs in our communities with an emphasis on maternal child health; substance use disorder; and food as medicine. Through its key areas of focus, the Foundation also strategically aligns with Elevance Health’s focus on community health and becoming a lifetime, trusted health partner that is fueled by its purpose to improve the health of humanity. To learn more about Elevance Health Foundation, please visit www.elevancehealth.foundation or follow us @ElevanceFND on X and Elevance Health Foundation on Facebook.

Building a stronger core is important at any age, but particularly once you wave goodbye to your 30s. Research shows muscle mass decreases approximately 3-8% per decade after this age, with the rate of loss increasing further after 60, and because having a strong core is so important to overall mobility, it’s an area of the body you don’t want to neglect.

Luckily, strength and fat loss coach Silvana Catalano has shared the ab exercise she credits with helping her build a stronger core after 40.

‘I stopped doing crunches and started doing this foam roller bridge variation instead,’ she said. ‘[It works] better than any crunch.’

Explaining why she moved away from the traditional ab exercise, Catalano said that ‘crunches flex [bend] your spine repeatedly under load’.

‘After 40, this can cause neck strain, back pain and only targets your surface muscles — not your deep core muscles,’ she added.

• Lie on your back with both heels on a foam roller, knees bent, and arms by your sides.
• Press through your heels to lift your hips into a bridge, creating a straight line from your shoulders to your knees.
• Keeping your hips elevated and level, extend one leg straight up toward the ceiling.
• Hold briefly, maintaining control and avoiding any hip drop or rotation.
• Lower the extended leg back to the starting position with control.
• Repeat on the opposite side while keeping your hips elevated throughout.

Perform 3 sets of 10-12 reps each side.

You can progressively overload the exercise every week, or increase the difficulty, in a few ways, including:

• Adding extra sets or reps
• Holding the bridge position for longer
• Adding weight by placing a dumbbell or weight plate across your hips or a resistance band around your thighs

‘The foam roller is the game changer,’ says Catalano. ‘It creates instability that forces your deep core to work overtime to stabilise your entire body.’

Your transverse abdominis — the deep core muscle that wraps around your waist like a corset — fires throughout the entire movement.

She added that this is the muscle which can help to make your stomach appear flatter.

‘Not your surface abs or your rectus abdominis [your ‘six pack’ muscles] but the deep muscles underneath’,’ she concluded.

Combining the foam roller bridge with the single leg extension engages your glutes, hamstrings, core and hip flexors simultaneously, improving lower-body strength and control.

One of our most frequently asked questions here at Women’s Health? How to build muscle and burn fat at the same time. So, we asked superstar trainer Oyinda Okunowo exactly how to do it. In this 4-week plan – created exclusively for Women’s Health COLLECTIVE members – you’ll get the workouts and nutrition guidance needed to help you on your way to better body composition. Tap the link below to unlock 14 days of free access to Oyinda’s plan and start training today.

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We’ve long known that aerobic exercise might help us live longer, and now strength training is being credited with the same effect. People who do up to two hours of strength training each week, over several decades, may reduce their risk of dying earlier from several serious conditions, including heart disease and neurological diseases, according to a Harvard-led study published June 12, 2026, in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

Researchers analyzed three major studies involving 147,374 adults (79% women) who were middle-aged or older at the study’s start and tracked for up to 30 years. Participants reported how frequently and vigorously they exercised, including resistance training (which can include weight lifting and body-weight movements) and aerobic activity (such as brisk walking, cycling, and running). Deaths from all causes were also recorded.

Participants who logged between 90 and 119 minutes of resistance training each week were 13% less likely to die during the study period from any cause compared with those who did no strength training. They also had a 19% lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease and a 27% lower risk of dying from neurological diseases such as dementia. Aerobic exercise remained a strong, independent predictor of living longer, but the greatest benefit was observed when resistance training was combined with it. Participants who regularly did both had up to a 45% lower risk of dying during the study period than those who did little aerobic activity and no resistance training.

If you don’t already engage in strength training, it may be wise to start. Begin with body-weight exercises such as squats, push-ups, or step-ups on a low stair. Add resistance bands or light dumbbells to increase the benefits. Consider enlisting the guidance of a physical therapist or personal trainer, and aim for consistency over time.

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