Fit or Fat

Fort Worth makes tiny strides toward faraway fitness finish line

Stick with it, Fort Worth.

Photo by Corey Jenkins/Getty Images

If your goal for 2019 is to develop a consistent fitness regimen and maintain a healthy lifestyle, you'll need to stay the course in Fort Worth.

According to WalletHub, Fort Worth ranks 84 out of 100 in the personal finance website's annual list of the best and worst cities in America for an active lifestyle.

However, despite its low score, Fort Worth has made a noteworthy improvement compared to three years ago. In 2016, WalletHub ranked us a dismal 94 out of 100. That same year, Dallas was ranked No. 84 and is now No. 53, so there might be hope for us yet.

To get its list, WalletHub evaluated 38 key indicators of an active lifestyle through two main categories: budget and participation and sports and outdoors. Some of the 38 factors included monthly fitness club fees, average cost of sports apparel, number of basketball hoops, and — curiously — the cost of bowling.

In addition to its overall rank, Fort Worth came in 94th for the fewest swimming pools per capita. Similarly, Irving is No. 97 in fewest basketball hoops per capita. Notably, El Paso ranked second for having the lowest monthly fitness club fees, but No. 77 for the highest percentage of physically inactive residents.

The new WalletHub score might be particularly disappointing given Fort Worth's strides to be known as "Fit Worth." In November 2018, Fort Worth became the largest city in the nation to be certified as a Blue Zones Community.

"Blue Zones Project is a community-led well-being improvement initiative based on creating permanent and semi-permanent changes to manmade surroundings that impact lifestyle and culture," the city says on its website. "The work of the project is based on an ongoing, 15-year study of the world’s longest-lived people. Fort Worth joins 19 cities across the country in earning the designation and is now the nation’s largest certified Blue Zones Community."

The city notes the following stats from another study on its site:

"According to the Gallup-Sharecare Well-Being Index, the city’s overall 2018 Well-Being Index score rose to 62.5, a gain of nearly four points since 2014. Meanwhile the U.S. Well-Being Index score — which outpaced the Fort Worth score by 3 points in 2014 — is 61.3, a decline of 0.5 over the same period.

Compared to the 190 largest metro areas reported nationally, Fort Worth’s equivalent rank for overall well-being rose from 185th in 2014 to 58th in 2017. Since 2014, Fort Worth has shown improvement in purpose, social, financial, community and physical well-being — all five of the core elements of well-being measured by the Gallup-Sharecare survey."

Among major Texas cities in WalletHub's rankings, Austin nabbed the highest rank at No. 18. Houston followed at No. 42, then Dallas (No. 53), Lubbock (No. 57), San Antonio (No. 61), Plano (No. 68), Laredo (No. 71), El Paso (No. 80), and Corpus Christi (No. 89).

Making a particularly bad showing were the three Texas cities in the bottom 10: Garland (No. 92), Arlington (No. 95), and Irving (No. 97).

So where should the fit-minded be calling home? Honolulu is tops, followed by Chicago, San Francisco, Portland, and Seattle.

fitness health rankings reports wallethub

Police News

Fort Worth police officer fired for unjustified use of force

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A Fort Worth police officer has been terminated following his involvement in a use of force incident. According to a release, Officer Matthew Krueger was let go on December 18, following an investigation into an incident involving someone who was videotaping his actions while he was on duty.

On Sunday, June 23, Fort Worth police officers responded to a hit-and-run collision near 1000 Foch St. The incident involved a suspected intoxicated driver who crashed into another vehicle and a structure before fleeing the scene on foot.

While officers were investigating, a woman approached them and used her cell phone to record their actions. Krueger asked and advised her multiple times to move across the street. When she failed to comply, she was placed under arrest.

During the arrest, Krueger used force to take the woman into custody, resulting in injuries that required medical care at an area hospital.

After being treated, the woman was released from the hospital, booked into jail, and charged with interference with public duties, resisting arrest and/or detention, evading arrest, and making a false alarm or report.

Krueger had been with the department for just under eight years and was assigned to the Patrol Bureau at the time of the incident.

The Fort Worth Police Major Case and Internal Affairs Units began immediate and congruent investigations. Krueger was transferred from Patrol to a unit with no public interaction, pending the outcome of the investigation.

After a review of the Internal Affairs investigation, Krueger’s chain of command determined that the level of force used was unjustified and violated departmental policy. Police Chief Neil Noakes concurred and terminated Krueger’s employment.

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