A Reddit thread has locals debating whether (and why) people in our area appear noticeably more fit than those in other parts of the country.
From a user in the Northern Virginia subreddit, in a thread titled “Why is everyone here so thin/fit?”:
Did anyone here come from deeper south and realize the disparity in the size of the average person? I looked it up and at the city level, Arlington VA was names the fittest city in the USA for eight consecutive years and DC is always second place. Now I understand places like Colorado being fit because of the mountain hiking and outdoorsy culture but this is a congested urban area with chronically busy people and career hustle culture. We also have a lot of restaurants and bars and people go out frequently, and if I’m not mistaken there are some parts of this area (DC especially) that are high poverty “food deserts” which are actually typically associated with a higher obesity rate. Does it really just come down to walkability? What’s different about here?
That original post from last week sparked what is now a nearly 400-post-long discussion. Redditors pointed to several factors that might explain why folks here are fitter than elsewhere, including:
- Wealth and education giving people access to better food, gyms, and healthcare
- The area’s career-driven, Type-A culture that extends to fitness
- Walkability and Metro use that naturally builds in thousands of extra steps per day (unlike car-dependent areas)
- Extensive trail networks and parks
- Corporate gyms and flexible work schedules;
- Fewer high-sugar staples, like Southern-style sweet tea, in people’s everyday consumption
What we’re wondering in today’s poll, however, is not what’s causing this phenomenon — but whether you’ve noticed it specifically in Arlington.
Are Arlingtonians actually fitter than people in most other parts of the country, based on your observations?
