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We Are Amazing Physical Specimens ... Kinda

Written by Dr. Dave Hnida, CBS4 Medical EditorThe American College of Sports Medicine released its annual rankings of America's fittest cities and Denver did pretty well: No. 5 nationally.

Not a gold, silver, or bronze, but pretty good just the same.

The Twin Cities of Minneapolis-St. Paul took top honors, followed by Portland, Oregon. Oklahoma City and Detroit brought up the rear.

Denver did well in several areas:

- High levels of activity and exercise
- Lower levels of heart disease and diabetes
- Higher number of people who walk, cycle, or take public transportation to work
- And a good number of playgrounds, parks, and golf courses (which explains the too-often difficulty in getting a tee time).

Where we didn't do so well:

- Higher number of smokers and tobacco users (especially people dribbling the chew and snuff)
- Higher number of people with asthma and other respiratory problems
- Higher levels of stress, depression, and other mental health issues
- Less availability of PE in schools.

Here's the national scoreboard:

1. Minneapolis-St. Paul
2. Washington, D.C.
3. Portland, Ore.
4. San Francisco
5. Denver
6. Boston
7. Sacramento
8. Seattle
9. Hartford, Conn.
10. San Jose
11. Austin
12. Salt Lake City
13. Cincinnati
14. San Diego
15. Raleigh, N.C.
16. Pittsburgh
17. Baltimore
18. Virginia Beach
19. Cleveland
20. Richmond, Va.
21. Atlanta
22. Providence
23. Buffalo
24. New York City
25. Philadelphia
26. Milwaukee
27. Chicago
28. Kansas City, Mo.
29. Los Angeles
30. Columbus, Ohio
31. St. Louis
32. Nashville
33. Phoenix
34. Orlando
35. Riverside, Calif.
36. Charlotte
37. Jacksonville
38. New Orleans
39. Las Vegas
40. Tampa
41. Birmingham, Ala.
42. Miami
43. Houston
44. Dallas
45. Indianapolis
46. Memphis
47. Louisville
48. San Antonio
49. Detroit
50. Oklahoma City

And here's a link to the research:

LINK: AmericanFitnessIndex.org/

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