Health experts have been saying for years that the path to a healthy self starts with being physically active. Apparently, people have been listening. Americans wearing a fitness tracker, specifically a Fitbit device, took more than 26 trillion steps last year — actually, precisely 26,857,655,603,500 steps. They accomplished this over 118.9 billion minutes; they also slept 12.4 billion hours. Fitbit says its U.S. clients averaged 7,994 steps a day, ranking 33rd worldwide (Hong Kong residents topped the list, averaging 10,493 steps a day).
Taking 10,000 steps a day, equal to about five miles, has become a popular goal among those who wear fitness trackers. Some research suggests that walking that amount can help lower the risk of chronic illnesses, such as diabetes and heart disease. Current U.S. physical activity guidelines recommend that adults do at least 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity, which some researchers say equates to about 7,500 steps a day. Whatever fitness goal you might have, consider a new ranking of the country’s 100 largest cities based on their compatibility with an active lifestyle. Compiled by WalletHub, a personal finance website, it compares cities across 38 metrics, from average monthly fitness-club fees to availability of swimming pools, basketball courts, tennis courts, public golf courses, playgrounds, parklands and more. Honolulu, Chicago, and San Francisco snared the top three spots, followed by Portland, Seattle, Minneapolis and Washington.
—
