Physical activity
fact sheet
Adults 18 and older need 30 minutes
of physical activity on five or more days a week to
be healthy; children and teens need 60 minutes of
activity a day for their health.
Significant health benefits can be
obtained by including a moderate amount of physical
activity (e.g., 30 minutes of brisk walking or raking
leaves, 15 minutes of running, 45 minutes of playing
volleyball).
Additional health benefits can be gained
through greater amounts of physical activity.
Thirty to sixty minutes of activity broken into smaller
segments of 10 or 15 minutes throughout the day has
significant health benefits.
Moderate daily physical activity can
reduce substantially the risk of developing or dying
from cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and
certain cancers, such as colon cancer. Daily physical
activity helps to lower blood pressure and cholesterol,
helps prevent or retard osteoporosis, and helps reduce
obesity, symptoms of anxiety and depression, and symptoms
of arthritis.
Cardiovascular disease (heart attacks,
strokes) is the number one killer of men and women
in the United States. Physically inactive people are
twice as likely to develop coronary heart disease
as regularly active people. The health risk posed
by physical inactivity is almost as high as risk factors
such as cigarette smoking, high blood pressure, and
high cholesterol.
Nearly half of American adults (4 in
10) report that they are not active at all; 7 in 10
are not moderately active for the recommended 30 minutes
a day, 5 or more days a week.
Poor diet and inactivity can lead to
overweight/obesity. Persons who are overweight or
obese are at increased risk for high blood pressure,
type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, gallbladder
disease, osteoarthritis, sleep apnea, respiratory
problems and some types of cancer. Poor diet and sedentary
lifestyles can lead to type 2 diabetes. In 2003, 17
million Americans had type 2 diabetes and 16 million
more had pre-diabetes. Each year, there are 1 million
new cases, and 200,000 people die from diabetes. The
cost to the economy is $132 billion in direct and
indirect medical costs.
Obesity continues to climb among American
adults. Nearly 60 million Americans are obese. More
than 108 million adults are either obese or overweight.
That means roughly 3 out of 5 Americans carry an unhealthy
amount of excess weight. The cost of obesity (direct
and indirect medical costs) is $117 billion per year.
The percentage of adults in the United States who
were overweight or obese (body mass index greater
than or equal to 25) in 1999-2002 was 65 percent.
Overweight and obesity cuts across all ages, racial
and ethnic groups, and both genders. A new study in
the Netherlands found that excess weight cuts years
off your life.
Overweight among children and teens
has doubled in the past two decades; 16 percent of
children and teens aged 6 to 19 were overweight in
1999-2002, triple the proportion in 1980. Fifteen-percent
of children in the same age group are considered at-risk
for overweight. The percentage of overweight African
American, Hispanic, and Native American children is
about 20%. More than 10 percent of children between
the ages of 2 and 5 are overweight, double the proportion
since 1980.
Health risks associated with being
overweight or obese include type 2 diabetes, high
blood pressure, high cholesterol, asthma, arthritis.
The major barriers most people face
when trying to increase physical activity are time,
access to convenient facilities, and safe environments
in which to be active.
School-based and workplace based interventions
have been shown to be successful in increasing physical
activity levels. Childhood and adolescence are pivotal
times for preventing sedentary behavior among adults
by maintaining the habit of physical activity throughout
the school years.
Type 2 diabetes, once called "adult onset"
diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol,
once thought to be age-related, are now diagnosed
in children and teens.
Physical activity among children and
adolescents is important because of the related health
benefits (cardio-respiratory function, blood pressure
control, weight management, cognitive and emotional
benefits). According to a study done by the National
Association of Sports and Physical Education (NASPE),
infants, toddlers, and preschoolers should engage
in at least 60 minutes of physical activity daily
and should not be sedentary for more than 60 minutes
at a time except when sleeping.
One quarter of U.S. children spend
4 hours or more watching television daily. Young people
are at particular risk for becoming sedentary as they
grow older. Encouraging moderate and vigorous physical
activity among youth is important. Because children
spend most of their time in school, the type and amount
of physical activity encouraged in schools are important.
