San Diego just missed 10 fittest cities list
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The Mission Bay 12-mile loop. Photo: Claire Trageser/Axios
San Diego just missed making the list of top 10 fittest cities, per the latest annual report from the American College of Sports Medicine and the Elevance Health Foundation.
Why it matters: The city's ranking at #11 shows it scores well on parks and recreation infrastructure and residents' health indicators but did poorly on environmental conditions.
Zoom in: San Diego ranked eighth among U.S. cities for having a lot of parks.
- About 20% of the city is park space, per the report.
Yes, but: The city was eighth among U.S. cities with the fewest good air quality days.
- Just 12.8% of days rate as "good" on an index from the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.
- That's because of pollution from wildfires and traffic, according to the report.
Winners: San Diego ranked fifth on personal health, with high marks for things like 82% of residents saying they'd exercised in the past month and only 7% reporting they smoked.
Losers: The city's overall rank was dragged down by its poor air quality and lack of bike infrastructure.