Want To Know What The Fittest States In The US Are?

When you travel the country, one of the things you’ll always notice is that how fit and healthy people look on average will vary a lot. And where you live also has a major impact on how likely you are to be able to improve your fitness levels.

Having worked in the fitness industry as a personal trainer for over ten years, I wanted to find out if reliable data could actually back up my own perceptions of the fittest states.

That meant spending a few weeks diving into CDC data and many other sources to find up-to-date information on the healthiest states.

And the results surprised me a lot, especially when it came to the availability of access to gyms.

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Comparing these data points to the overall fitness ranking highlighted an interesting point.

Only three of the five least obese states were on the overall top 10 fittest states. But all five of the most obese states were in the lowest 12 for the overall fit score.

So there is a definite correlation between obesity and low fitness levels, but there is more to achieving a great overall fitness score than just achieving a lower BMI.

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The data shows a clear trend: states with more fitness clubs tend to have lower obesity rates and higher fit scores. For instance, Montana, the top state for health clubs, boasts double the number per capita compared to West Virginia, which ranks lowest.

But here's the catch: does a keen interest in fitness boost the number of gyms, or do more gyms encourage better fitness? It's a classic chicken-and-egg dilemma, open to endless debate.

Another factor is gym affordability. States ranking low in fitness often have lower average incomes, suggesting that gym expenses might take a backseat to other financial priorities.

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Not surprisingly, junk food temptation seems to directly correlate to obesity and overall fitness levels.

It’s one of the stand-out data points for the fittest state in the country, Vermont, which also has the second-lowest concentration of fast food outlets.

According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), cheap and crap food with low nutritional value has become an increasing threat to health since the Covid pandemic, and it’s increasingly affecting young people [4].

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The differences here are quite staggering. Residents of New Mexico report, on average, almost twice as many days of poor health as the residents of South Dakota.

But when you look a bit closer at those rankings, you’ll notice something significant.

Self-rated poor health days don’t have a very strong correlation to the overall fitness levels.

Most of the top and bottom five states in this category are right around the middle range of overall fitness (Nebraska, Oregon, South Dakota, Iowa, New Mexico, Alaska).

This could be a significant indication that people lack critical knowledge and understanding of health and fitness indicators to accurately assess their own fitness levels.

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This is where there really weren’t any surprises.

First of all, the state with the highest levels of inactivity (Mississippi) has twice the amount of inactivity as the most active state (Colorado).

What else is interesting about these states?

Colorado is the second fittest state in the country, while Mississippi is the least fit.

Also, all of the five states with the lowest levels of activity on a monthly basis are in the bottom 20% for overall fitness. That shows how important regular exercise at home, outdoors, and at the home gym is for overall health and fitness.

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What stood out for us in this data is that the five states with the highest rate of self-reported excellent health are all in the overall top ten on our fitness list.

But only one state in the overall ranking (Ohio) featured on the list of five worst states for excellent health.

This could indicate that a lack of health and fitness often go hand in hand with a poor understanding of what excellent health actually means.

It could also indicate a problem that people rate their health compared to others around them. And if people with moderately good health see lots of severely unhealthy people, they could be more likely to rate their health a lot better than it actually is.

Different climates and geographical features across states significantly influence outdoor activities and fitness levels.

• In states with milder climates, such as California or Florida, consistent weather patterns encourage year-round outdoor exercises like jogging, cycling, and swimming.
• Conversely, states with harsh winters, like Minnesota or Alaska, often see a seasonal shift in activities, with skiing and indoor fitness gaining popularity during colder months.
• Mountainous regions, like Colorado, promote hiking and mountain biking, enhancing cardiovascular health.
• Coastal areas offer water-based activities like surfing and kayaking.

Thus, local geography and climate play crucial roles in shaping the fitness habits and preferences of residents in various states.