America's laziest city revealed as magazine compiles list of the most exercise-phobic metropolises in the U.S.



It's the 'Thoroughbred Capital of the World' - and apparently it's also thoroughly lazy.

Lexington, Kentucky has gained the dubious distinction of the most sedentary city in America.



Although it's known for its beautiful horse farms, the southern city has been ranked as the most exercise-phobic in the nation, according to Men's Health magazine.



City of Laziness: Lexington, Kentucky, which has been ranked the most exercise-phobic metropolis in the nation by Men's Health magazine

Indianapolis in Indiana and Jackson, Mississippi also ranked among the least active, while Seattle, San Francisco and Oakland, California were the most physically active.

'What hurt Lexington most was the actual amount of activity, or exercise, people reported engaging in -- any physical activity at all, which was relatively low,' said Matt Marion, deputy editor of Men's Health.

Gentle, Southern way of life: Lexington is also the Throughbred Capital of the World

'They did have higher rates of deaths from deep vein thrombosis (DVT) as well,' he added.

The magazine compiled the rankings of the 100 most sedentary cities featured in the latest issue that will hit the news stands on Tuesday.

To do so, editors looked at how often residents exercise, the number of households that watched 15 hours of cable television a week and bought more than 11 video games a year, and the rate of DVT, a blood clot in a vein, usually in the leg, which is associated with inactivity.

'When we crunched the numbers Lexington finished at the bottom,' Mr Marion explained.

Southern cities dominated the least active metropolises. Tulsa and Oklahoma City, also scored a low grade, as did Birmingham, Alabama, Laredo in Texas, Nashville, Little Rock and Charleston, West Virginia.

Marion suspects the southern lifestyle and balmy weather could be contributing factors.

'In certain cities there is a more laid-back lifestyle. That's fine, but there is not that same drive you'll see in certain parts of the northeast or California, or the northwest where people get up every morning and run or hit the gym,' he explained.

COUCH POTATOES: TOP TEN LEAST ACTIVE

100 Lexington, KY

99 Indianapolis, IN

98 Jackson, MS

97 Charleston, WV

96 Oklahoma City, OK

95 Tulsa, OK

94 Little Rock, AR

93 Nashville, TN

92 Laredo, TX

91 Birmingham, AL EXERCISE JUNKIES: TOP TEN MOST ACTIVE

10 Minneapolis, MN

9 Denver, CO

8 Atlanta, GA

7 Portland, ME

6 Reno, NV

5 Salt Lake City, UT

4 Washington, DC

3 Oakland, CA

2 San Francisco, CA

1 Seattle, WA

Residents of power-hub Washington, DC, Salt Lake City, Reno, Portland, Atlanta, Denver and Minneapolis were also visiting the gym or pounding the pavement as each city scored top grades for being active.

