Houston near bottom of fit list, again

HOUSTON – Houston, we've done it again.

It's an annual list that somehow the Bayou City always settles comfortably near the bottom: The American College of Sports Medicine's 50 fittest cities, according to environmental and physical health.

For this particular list, researchers took into account access to parks and recreational centers, as well as overall health issues.

At the top, Minneapolis - St. Paul, Minnesota.

Number 43: Houston.

Many of us can guess why.

"I think a lot of it is people's diet, you know, and having healthy things instead of just the quick, processed foods everywhere," said Houstonian and personal trainer Nicole Stilwell.

"We don't use public transportation as much," Richard Rigby said. "We don't walk around as much."

But the City of Houston said not so fast.

Last fall, the mayor launched the Houston Healthy Initiative adding bike sharing programs and improving trails.

There's a major effort underway to expand public transportation and HISD is serving healthier meals to kids at school.

But, some say the buck stops with us making a personal commitment to a healthy lifestyle.

"You have to just do it, make it a part of your life," Alison Swenson told Local 2. "If it's not a part of your life, it won't happen."

City leaders told Local 2 Houston is already inching up the "Fit List."

They said the new programs in place to improve our health will take some time to pay off.