Almost 65% of Americans met the minimum level of aerobic physical activity required to produce substantial health benefits in 2007 as defined by the Department of Health and Human Services’ 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines, says a article in the December 5 issue of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Using data from the 2007 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey, the CDC classified almost 400,000 respondents as physically active if they reported at least 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity activity, or at least 75 minutes per week of vigorous-intensity activity, or a combination of moderate-intensity and vigorous-intensity. More men (68.9%) were classified as being physically active than women (60.4%). Among racial/ethnic populations, prevalence was lower for non-Hispanic blacks than for non-Hispanic whites. By education level, prevalence was lowest for persons with less than a high school diploma and highest among college graduates. By US census region, prevalence was lowest among respondents in the South and highest among those in the West.  

Applying the Healthy People 2010 objectives—which call for at least 30 minutes of moderate activity, 5 or more days per week, or at least 20 minutes of vigorous activity, 3 or more days per week—to the same respondents, the percentage of US adults in 2007 classified as physically active was 48.8%.

[Source: APTA]