1-in-5 adults meet physical activity guidelines

ATLANTA, May 2 (UPI) -- Only 20 percent of U.S. adults meet both the federal government's aerobic and muscle-strengthening physical activity recommendations, officials say.

However, the findings, published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, a journal of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, also found nationwide nearly 50 percent of adults got the recommended amounts of aerobic activity and about 30 percent engaged in the recommended muscle-strengthening activity.

The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommended adults get at least 2.5 hours a week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity such as walking, or 1 hour and 15 minutes a week of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity, such as jogging, or a combination of both.

The guidelines also recommended adults do muscle-strengthening activities such as push-ups, sit-ups, or activities using resistance bands or weights. These activities should involve all major muscle groups and be done two or more days per week.

The report found the rates of adults meeting the overall guidelines ranged from 27 percent in Colorado to 13 percent in Tennessee and West Virginia.

The West at 24 percent and the Northeast at 21 percent had the highest proportion of adults who met the guidelines, but women, Hispanics, older adults and obese adults were less likely to meet them.

The researchers used data from self-reported information from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, an annual phone survey of U.S. adults.