Indianapolis has certainly been on the map for its "walkability" especially in the downtown area, and its attention to our multiple fitness trails and parks. I am also very excited to see the vast number of bike lanes popping up on many of our city streets encouraging commute via bike or foot. Unfortunately, Indianapolis still ranks quite low on the nations fitness rankings. A recent study ranked Indianapolis 45th on an annual list that rates the country's largest metropolitan areas in terms of health and fitness.

The American College of Sport Medicine (which is ironically based internationally in Indianapolis) has an American Fitness Index which is similar to a "physical" for cities. It examines several different areas like health behaviors, levels of chronic disease conditions, health care access and fitness levels.

In the sixth annual report, the metropolitan area of Indianapolis-Carmel scored 36.8 out of a possible 100 points. More so, Indy actually dropped two spots from a year ago, when the area ranked 43rd on the list.

To measure Indy's health and fitness level, ACSM worked with the Indiana University School of Medicine and a panel of 26 health experts. Researchers also looked at data from the U.S. Census, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, the Trust for the Public Land City Park Facts, among other sources.

The top 10 healthiest cities according to their criteria are:

1. Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.
2. Washington, D.C.
3. Portland, Ore.
4. San Francisco, Calif.
5. Denver, Colo.
6. Boston, Mass.
7. Sacramento, Calif.
8. Seattle, Wash.
9. Hartford, Conn.
10. San Jose, Calif

Come on Indy! Let's use these awesome resources that our city has worked hard to implement and be more known for our health and wellness instead of just only racing, basketball and John Mellencamp. Let's get higher up on this list Hoosiers!

To see the complete list of Indianapolis' profile visit the AFI website

For a comprehensive list of the vast number of trails in all of Indiana visit: http://www.traillink.com/city/indianapolis-in-trails.aspx