Americans are becoming less active
Over the past decade, the prevalence of physical inactivity has remained "unacceptably high," according to a study in The American Journal of Medicine, despite continued efforts to improve fitness at individual and population levels.
Physical inactivity isn't just an American issue nor limited to the individual. Government policies can help change the infrastructure, environments, and resources that support a more active population. However, a World Health Organization report published in 2022 found in a study of 194 countries that progress toward policies that aimed to increase physical activity is slow. Over a quarter of created national policies were not funded or implemented.
Variables like socioeconomic status, regionality, ethnic backgrounds, and education correlate with differences in physical inactivity. Technology and how our "built environments" are structured for walkability and safety all play a part in why Americans don't move as much as they should—in addition to more personalized reasons, like a lack of time, energy, and motivation and fear of injury.
Physical activity doesn't just prevent chronic conditions; it can help manage them too. Still, like the rest of American adults, people with chronic conditions and disabilities also exercise at lower levels than recommended.
CDC data shows that physical activity levels in adults have dropped and flatlined since 2020 without continued improvement for over a decade. With just an additional 10 minutes of physical activity a day, it is estimated that 110,000 deaths of middle-aged and older adults could be prevented annually, according to research published in JAMA Internal Medicine. Fittingly,CDC data also shows that low physical activity costs the American health care system $117 billion annually.
A 2019 Global Wellness Institute report found that Americans rank #1 for how much consumers spend on physical activity, with $264 billion annually on technology, equipment, and apparel. The same report ranks the United States #20 globally for "sports participation," measuring people participating in at least one physical activity per month.
So, have Americans always been thisinactive? A 2021 Current Biology study comparing 19th-century to 21st-century Americans found that Americans exercise 27 fewer minutes now.
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