Americans are the laziest they've been since 2007, survey finds


Had a hard time actually using that gym membership you paid for all of last year? You're not alone.
According to an annual survey by the Physical Activity Council, approximately 83 million Americans 6 years old and over did not engage even once in any of 104 physical activities recognized by the council in all of 2014. That's nearly three million more sedentary people than in 2013, the Council reports.
That translates to nearly 28 percent of the American population being sedentary last year, which is the highest level of inactivity reported by the annual survey since 2007. While exercises like yoga and paintball count in the survey alongside more traditional options like running and team sports, the PAC reformatted its survey in 2007 to exclude activities like darts and billiards.
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Tom Cove, chief executive of the PAC-affiliated Sports and Fitness Industry Association, told The Wall Street Journal that the 2014 figure was the highest he'd seen in his 24 years involved with the survey. "We feel confident, in a sad way, that this is the largest number we've ever seen," Cove said.
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Kimberly Alters is the news editor at TheWeek.com. She is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.
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