Only 24% Meet Physical Activity Guidelines

How are Americans doing when it comes to exercising? They are doing better than they had been, but not good enough. Only 24 percent of adults met the recommended aerobic and muscle-strengthening physical activity guidelines in 2017, according to a CDC study. What are those guidelines? Brace yourself for a wordy explanation:

"Federal physical activity guidelines recommend that adults perform at least 150–300 minutes of moderate-intensity, or 75–150 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity per week, or an equivalent combination of moderate- and vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity (i.e., the aerobic guideline). In addition, adults should do muscle-strengthening activities of at least moderate intensity that involved all major muscle groups on ≥2 days per week (i.e. the muscle-strengthening guideline)."

Whew! Got that? 

So, only one in four adults met these guidelines in 2017. Pathetic, but not as pathetic as in 2008 when a smaller 18 percent met the guidelines. Are Fitbits and Apple Watches making a difference?  Maybe. The percentage of adults who met the guidelines has increased significantly in almost every demographic segment. Hispanics living in rural areas and rural residents of the South were the two segments whose physical activity level did not increase over the past few years.

The purpose of the CDC's study was to compare physical activity levels in urban and rural areas by demographic characteristic. Overall, urban residents are more likely to meet federal guidelines than rural residents (25 versus 20 percent, respectively). By age, here is how urban (and rural) residents compare... 

Percent meeting physical activity guidelines in urban (and rural) areas, 2016–17
Aged 18 to 24: 33.4% (25.3%)
Aged 25 to 34: 31.3% (23.6%)
Aged 35 to 44: 26.6% (21.5%)
Aged 45 to 64: 20.9% (16.1%)
Aged 65-plus: 13.8% (9.5%)

Source: CDC, Trends in Meeting Physical Activity Guidelines among Urban and Rural Dwelling Adults—United States, 2008–2017