For a city notorious for its obsession with health, Los Angeles ranks toward the bottom of an index meant to gauge the fitness levels of the nation’s 50 largest cities.
Los Angeles is the 29th fittest city in the country, according to the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Fitness Index.
Residents in LA, Long Beach and Santa Ana smoke less and use public transportation more often than their counterparts in other major cities. They also have more access to recreation centers.
But those living in the Southland have a higher percentage of poor mental health days and diabetes.
There are also fewer baseball diamonds, dog parks, playgrounds and golf courses per capita to serve the 12.9 million residents living in the area.
Riverside is ranked at No. 35. Researchers noted the area has many dog parks and recreation centers, but its ranking dropped because of a higher percentage of residents who smoke and high rates of obesity.
The San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont area of Northern California ranked as the fourth fittest city on the list. And San Diego landed in 14th place.
Local
Get Los Angeles's latest local news on crime, entertainment, weather, schools, COVID, cost of living and more. Here's your go-to source for today's LA news.
With more outdoor recreation and farmer’s markets per capita, Minneapolis scored the coveted No. 1 spot.
The most unfit metropolis is Oklahoma City, Okla., which exceeded the study’s target goal in just two areas: more acres of parkland per capita and more golf courses per capita.
Correction: A previous version of this article listed Los Angeles at No. 38.
