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About one in 5 American adults takes on a high level of physical
activity, while one in four engage in little or no regular
physical activity, according to a report by the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The report, which used data from about 32,000 interviews
conducted in 2000, focuses on the amount of a person’s
typical, daily physical activity, including work and leisure
time.
In addition to work, usual daily activity includes things
such as commuting, running errands and performing household
chores.
Regular leisure time physical activity includes exercise,
sports or active hobbies that cause light sweating or an increase
in breathing or heart rate occurring five or more times per
week for at least 30 minutes each time. Additionally, vigorous
activities that cause heavy sweating or large increases in
breathing or heart rate three or more times a week for at
least 20 minutes each time were also included.
Some 19 percent of adults are "very active during usual
daily activities and engage in regular leisure time physical
activity". Typically, men engage in a high level of physical
activity more often than women.
One in four adults are "moderately active during usual
daily activities and completely inactive during leisure-time"
or are inactive altogether, according to the report.
Moreover, people who are more active in their usual daily
activities are also more likely to engage in regular physical
activity in their leisure time.
Several factors are associated with physical activity, according
to the report.
In terms of education, one in four adults with an advanced
degree engage in a high level of physical activity, while
only one in seven adults with less than a high school diploma
do.
Further, adults who earn an income that’s below poverty
level are three times as likely to be inactive as adults who
earn the highest incomes.
Also, women who are married are more likely to be highly
physically active than women who never married, and adults
living in the South are more likely to be inactive than adults
living in any other geographic region.
Centers
for Disease Control May 14, 2003
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