Seattle ranked as a top fitness city for baby boomers

SEATTLE -- A survey of the fittest cities for baby boomers in America ranked Seattle in the Top 10.

The survey, compiled by the American Physical Therapy Association, was released Monday. It looked at the 50 largest metropolitan areas in the U.S. and whether they had the right services to help adults older than 50 stay healthy as they age. Seattle placed at number 8 on the list.

APTA's survey included several factors in its criteria, including life expectancy, cardiovascular health and stress levels, in addition to access to health care and fitness programs. The organization said Seattle has the second highest per capita spending for parks among the top ten cities. Also, Seattle has low diagnosis rates of hypertension and cardiac disease.

The Top 10 cities were:

1. San Jose, Calif.
2. Minneapolis
3. San Francisco
4. Denver
5. Boston
6. Salt Lake City
7. Washington, D.C.
8. Seattle
9. San Diego
10. Raleigh, N.C.

APTA said that while other surveys have looked at healthy living in American cities, this survey was the first to look at baby boomers in particular. More information about the survey can be found here.