A Reddit thread has locals debating whether (and why) people in our area appear noticeably more fit than those in other parts of the country.

From a user in the Northern Virginia subreddit, in a thread titled “Why is everyone here so thin/fit?”:

Did anyone here come from deeper south and realize the disparity in the size of the average person? I looked it up and at the city level, Arlington VA was names the fittest city in the USA for eight consecutive years and DC is always second place. Now I understand places like Colorado being fit because of the mountain hiking and outdoorsy culture but this is a congested urban area with chronically busy people and career hustle culture. We also have a lot of restaurants and bars and people go out frequently, and if I’m not mistaken there are some parts of this area (DC especially) that are high poverty “food deserts” which are actually typically associated with a higher obesity rate. Does it really just come down to walkability? What’s different about here?

That original post from last week sparked what is now a nearly 400-post-long discussion. Redditors pointed to several factors that might explain why folks here are fitter than elsewhere, including:

What we’re wondering in today’s poll, however, is not what’s causing this phenomenon — but whether you’ve noticed it specifically in Arlington.

Are Arlingtonians actually fitter than people in most other parts of the country, based on your observations?

A boutique fitness studio is coming to Ballston and hosting free pop-up classes around town this fall.

The gym franchise barre3 has signed a lease at 818 N. Quincy Street in Ballston, according to a press release. In advance of the opening, the new studio is hosting pop-up community classes across Arlington over the next few weeks.

A national boxing gym franchise appears to be planning a new location on Columbia Pike.

Title Boxing Club is laying the groundwork for a possible location at Centro Arlington, in the retail bay where Orangetheory Fitness closed last year. The business applied for a commercial builders’ permit there last month.