ACSM Fitness Index Represents Major PR Assignment

One of the most exciting public relations assignments we have earned and relished during the past 12 years is assisting the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) in disseminating and promoting its American Fitness Index findings and the rankings of the 100 Fittest Cities.

We released the 2026 Fitness Index findings on July 14 with ACSM and its philanthropic partner Elevance Health Foundation, but our work on the project started back in March.

The ACSM Fitness Index Advisory Committee, led by Stella Volpe, PhD, FACSM, ACSM-CEP, past president of ACSM and chair of the Fitness Index Advisory Board, works year-round on the evaluation of the 100 largest U.S. cities using 35 evidence-based indicators across personal health, community infrastructure and environmental conditions.

The 2026 Fitness Index results allowed us to review, discuss and collaborate on drafting a global news release to announce the thousands of data points and summary report capturing this essential information.

It takes months for the Asher-ACSM-Elevance Health team to finalize a news release, a summary report sharing in-depth findings, an infographic to illustrate the results, an update to the ACSM website, and start targeting health, fitness and geographic media outlets for their potential coverage.

As in past years, the Fitness Index is securing local, state, national and even global attention.

Let’s look at the 19^th annual Fitness Index findings, which is a tremendous resource for public policy leaders, stakeholders and the citizens who live in the Top 100 cities.

The nation’s fittest cities consistently combine lower obesity and chronic disease rates with higher physical activity, stronger active transportation, and broad access to parks and recreation infrastructure. Lower-ranked cities continue to struggle with higher obesity, lower activity levels, food insecurity and fewer opportunities to integrate movement into daily life.

The result is two types of cities — one where healthy choices are built into everyday life, and another where structural barriers continue to limit long-term health.

Food Insecurity and Air Quality Pose Key Health Concerns

The 2026 Fitness Index also identified worsening trends in food insecurity and continued disparities in environmental conditions.

For the second consecutive year, food insecurity increased nationwide, with 99 of the 100 largest cities reporting higher rates than the previous year. The national average is now above 14% of residents living with food insecurity.

Air quality also varied dramatically across communities. On average, cities experienced good air quality approximately 51% of days annually, with eight cities reporting 10% or fewer days with good air quality. Because nearly 28 million Americans live with asthma, air quality continues to play an increasingly important role in outdoor physical activity and overall community health.

Based on updated annual census data, three cities – Cape Coral, FL (#62), Hialeah, FL (#67) and Frisco, TX (#32) – were added to the 2026 Fitness Index, replacing Fremont, CA; Norfolk, VA; and Spokane, WA.

Full rankings, city comparison tools and additional resources are available at acsm.org/fitnessindex. Learn more by following us on X: @ACSMNews #100FitCities.

Asher Agency has worked with ACSM for 12 years to fully support its Fitness Index, and it never becomes “routine” for us. We are proud to be a part of something special that makes a positive difference in the lives of people across the nation.