According to this year's American Fitness Index—an annual report put together by The American College of Sports Medicine—the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area ranks at the top of a list of "Health and Community Fitness Status of the 50 Largest Metropolitan Areas." The list compares and reflects a given area's "composite of preventive health behaviors, levels of chronic disease conditions, and community resources and policies that support physical activity."

Based on that assessment, the D.C. metro area, which includes parts of Virginia, Maryland, and West Virginia, scored 77.3 out of 100 points. The report used data from the U.S. Census, CDC, and other resources to determine that our area is the fittest in the nation. According to the report, the two categories researches focused on were personal health indicators and community and environmental indicators, such as the area's walkability score and how many people use public transportation.

Falling just below the D.C. area in the rankings were the Minneapolis-St. Paul area with 73.5 points, Portland, Ore. at 72.1 points, Denver, Colo. at 71.7 points, and San Francisco, Calif. at 71 points.