Most Active City in US: Portland, Oregon

Men’s Health Magazine released a study naming Portland, Oregon as the most active city in America. And why? (hint: its not the number of gym hours.)…

“In Portland, Oregon, many people bicycle or walk everywhere, and there is a social expectation that others should bike or walk,” said Jeffrey Hallam, the founding director of the University of Mississippi Center for Health Behavior Research. “But in Mississippi, that expectation to be physically active isn’t as strong.”

As Nike’s Designed to Move campaign lays out, there are two parts to improving health by increasing physical activity as I reported on here: engaging children early on in sports and physical activity so they discover how much fun it is and how good they feel; and, designing cities and towns so that walking and cycling are normal parts of everyday life. Kind of like Portland.