80 Percent of US Adults Fail to Meet Physical Activity Guidelines: CDC

A latest report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention state that just 20 percent of adults in the U.S. are meeting the federal government's aerobic and muscle-strengthening physical activity recommendations, according to a news release.

The conclusion was reached based on data that consisted of self-reported information from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System and an annual phone survey of adults aged 18. 

According to the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, every adult should get a minimum of 2 ½ hours a week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity such as walking, or one hour and 15 minutes a week of intense aerobic exercise such as jogging. Apart from this, the guidelines insist that adults do some muscle-strengthening activities like push-ups, sits-ups or activities with the help of resistance bands or weights.

But reports highlight that just 50 percent of adults are getting the recommended amount of aerobic exercise, and nearly 30 percent receive the required amounts of muscle-strengthening activity.

"Although only 20 percent of adults are meeting the overall physical activity recommendations, it is encouraging that half the adults in the United States are meeting the aerobic guidelines and a third are meeting the muscle-strengthening recommendations," Carmen D. Harris, M.P.H, epidemiologist in CDC's physical activity and health branch, said in a press statement.  

Apart from this, the study also noticed a regional difference. Nearly 27 percent of the adults in Colorado meet the overall guidelines, whereas in Tennessee and West Virginia, just 13 percent of the adults managed to meet the guidelines.

Those who were less likely to meet the guidelines consisted of women, Hispanics, older adults and obese adults.