New York ranked 24th in fitness among U.S. cities, report says

New York just squeezed itself onto the list of top 25 cities for fitness a holding steady from 2014 at number 24 a on the American Fitness Index's (AFI) 2015 list.

As part of the evaluation, the index looked at criteria including the percent of city land area used as parkland,  the number of farmers markets and the percentage of people using public transportation to commute to work.

The index looked at cities' progress over the past four years and found New York had improved in the numbers of farmers markets and dog parks, and the amount spent on park-related expenses.

New York achieved "excellence" in some areas, too. Those include a higher percentage of city land used as parkland, a higher percentage of the population within a 10-minute walk to a park and a higher percentage of the population walking or biking to work.

Alternately, the index also identified 14 areas where New York could improve, completing less than 20-percent of the target goals. Those areas included fewer swimming pools per capita, fewer golf courses per capita, a lower level of state requirement for physical education classes, and a higher percentage of the population having asthma.

The index defines New York as including New York City, Long Island, and other counties in the metropolitan area.

The Washington D.C. area was listed as the fittest city in the United States by AFI, with the report citing their access to parks and paths for jogging, walking and biking as areas of excellence for the city.