Lexington, Kentucky: America's Laziest City (BLOG)

If you rarely take the stairs and instead opt for an elevator, it may not be just a case of laziness. "Stairwells are dark, dirty, and designed to be functional," says Daniel Banks, M.D., chairman of the department of medicine at the LSU health sciences center. "They need to be more inviting so people will take advantage of their fitness value." For instance, a CDC study found that piping in upbeat music and hanging "Take the stairs" signs nearby boosted traffic by 9 percent. Petition your city officials to revamp all public stairwells.

Sit 'N' Spin

Often deskbound? Bring the gym to your office. In a study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, sedentary workers who were given mini exercise bikes to slide under their desks said they found it easy to pedal while they were pushing their papers. Buy a MagneTrainer ER (magnetrainer.com, $150) and start with 20 minutes a day, 3 days a week.

Least active
100 Lexington, KY F
99 Indianapolis, IN F
98 Jackson, MS F
97 Charleston, WV F
96 Oklahoma City, OK F
95 Tulsa, OK F
94 Little Rock, AR F
93 Nashville, TN F
92 Laredo, TX F
91 Birmingham, AL F

90 Charlotte, NC F
89 Corpus Christi, TX F
88 Memphis, TN F
87 Wichita, KS F
86 Sioux Falls, SD F
85 Fort Wayne, IN F
84 Omaha, NE F
83 Toledo, OH F
82 Lincoln, NE F
81 Louisville, KY D-
80 Greensboro, NC D-
79 Des Moines, IA D-
78 Columbus, OH D
77 Las Vegas, NV D
76 Cincinnati, OH D
75 Jacksonville, FLD
74 Billings, MT D
73 El Paso, TX D
72 Lubbock, TX D
71 Buffalo, NY D+
70 Houston, TX D+
69 Columbia, SC D+
68 New Orleans, LA D+
67 Tampa, FLD+
66 San Antonio, TX D+
65 Winston-Salem, NC D+
64 Plano, TX D+
63 St. Louis, MO D+
62 Bakersfield, CA D+
61 Cheyenne, WY D+
60 Fargo, ND D+
59 Fresno, CA C-
58 Cleveland, OH C-
57 Detroit, MI C-
56 Dallas, TX C-
55 Virginia Beach, VA C-
54 Chesapeake, VA C-
53 Kansas City, MO C-
52 Milwaukee, WI C-
51 Durham, NC C
50 Fort Worth, TX C
49 Raleigh, NC C
48 Orlando, FLC
47 Pittsburgh, PA C
46 Albuquerque, NM C
45 Riverside, CA C
44 Stockton, CA C
43 Jersey City, NJ C+
42 Newark, NJ C+
41 Providence, RI C+
40 Richmond, VA C+
39 Sacramento, CA C+
38 Philadelphia, PA C+
37 Santa Ana, CA C+
36 Baton Rouge, LA C+
35 Phoenix, AZ B-
34 Norfolk, VA B-
33 New York, NY B-
32 St. Petersburg, FLB-
31 Chicago, IL B-
30 Baltimore, MD B-
29 Colorado Springs, CO B-
28 Aurora, CO B
27 Los Angeles, CA B
26 Boise, ID B
25 Anchorage, AK B
24 Honolulu, HI B
23 Burlington, VT B
22 Wilmington, DE B
21 San Diego, CA B+
20 Madison, WI B+
19 Tucson, AZ B+
18 Boston, MA B+
17 San Jose, CA B+
16 Manchester, NH B+
15 Portland, OR B+
14 Austin, TX A-
13 St. Paul, MN A-
12 Miami, FLA-
11 Bridgeport, CT A-

Most active
10 Minneapolis, MN A-
9 Denver, CO A-
8 Atlanta, GA A-
7 Portland, ME A-
6 Reno, NV A-
5 Salt Lake City, UT A-
4 Washington, DC A
3 Oakland, CA A
2 San Francisco, CA A+1 Seattle, WA A+

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