Ch 4 — Hoover residents stay fit according to this new study. (City of Hoover)

Hoover residents, pat yourselves on the back. A new study from online fitness resource Total Shape found that people who live in Hoover are the fittest of all metropolitan areas in Alabama. Fairhope and Daphne follow closely behind in second and third place overall. Wondering where your hometown ranks? Read on.

Fit for the top spot

Total Shape, a leading online resource for fitness and healthy lifestyle advice, commissioned a study to determine the fittest cities in Alabama. The results are in and Hoover, Fairhope and Daphne came out on top.

The study, based on data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 2019 and 2020, looks at the health status, exercising habits and obesity rates among residents 18 and up.

89% of Hoover’s adult population describes their state of health as either “excellent”, “very good” or “good”.
Plus, 82% of Hoover residents reported undertaking some measure of physical activity in their spare time.

Hoover places number 78 in the US for overall fitness. According to the study, the general fitness score of urban dwellers in Alabama is 41 overall in the country.

Runners up

Coming in second place overall is Fairhope, where 88% of residents would rate their health positively. The study shows that 80.7% of residents dedicate at least some of their free time to exercising.

Daphne, which ranked third overall, reported 77.9% physically active residents in the study. 85.8% described their health status as “good”, “very good” or “excellent”.

According to the study, here are the obesity rates across the top three cities:

Hoover—31%
Fairhope—30%
Daphne—32.5%

“If losing weight is your objective, the secret is not to compare yourself to others but, instead, go to your cupboard and start reading the labels. You may be surprised how much sugar is in processed foods, especially those containing low or no fat. And since diet and exercise are just as important for one’s health, one starting point to remember is that even the smallest amount of physical activity can actually improve your quality of life.”
Spokesperson from Total Shape

Here’s Total Shape’s top 10 ranking for fittest cities in Alabama: