When was the last time you went to the gym? Statistically, it's been a while.
The CDC released data Thursday showing that just 22.9 percent of U.S. adults meet the amount of weekly exercise recommended by the Department of Health and Human Services. Health experts recommend that adults "between the ages of 18 and 64" should get at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise, or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise, each week, CNN reported.
That amounts to 15 to 30 minutes of exercise a day, five days a week. It's a bleak outlook — particularly when you look at the numbers for each state, Insider reported. States like Kentucky and New York get significantly less exercise than the national average, while states like Arizona and Minnesota report significantly higher numbers.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
But these numbers may not be as bad as they seem, Insider explained. The Department of Health hoped that 20.1 percent of adults would meet this requirement by 2020, so the Americans are actually ahead of the government's stated goal.
And what's more, this study only takes into account "leisure time physical activity," which means people who walk during their commutes or exercise at work weren't counted. "If you are engaged in a physically demanding job for eight to 12 hours a day, the last thing you want to do at the end of your workday is go to the gym to work out," Tainya Clarke, a health statistician and one of the authors of the study, told CNN.
Read more about the CDC's study at Insider.
-
5 artfully drawn cartoons about Donald Trump's Epstein doodleCartoons Artists take on a mountainous legacy, creepy art, and more
-
Violent videos of Charlie Kirk’s death are renewing debate over online censorshipTalking Points Social media ‘promises unfiltered access, but without guarantees of truth and without protection from harm’
-
What led to Poland invoking NATO’s Article 4 and where could it lead?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION After a Russian drone blitz, Warsaw’s rare move to invoke the important NATO statute has potentially moved Europe closer to continent-wide warfare
-
Texas declares end to measles outbreakSpeed Read The vaccine-preventable disease is still spreading in neighboring states, Mexico and Canada
-
RFK Jr. shuts down mRNA vaccine funding at agencySpeed Read The decision canceled or modified 22 projects, primarily for work on vaccines and therapeutics for respiratory viruses
-
Measles cases surge to 33-year highSpeed Read The infection was declared eliminated from the US in 2000 but has seen a resurgence amid vaccine hesitancy
-
Kennedy's vaccine panel signals skepticism, changeSpeed Read RFK Jr.'s new vaccine advisory board intends to make changes to the decades-old US immunization system
-
Kennedy ousts entire CDC vaccine advisory panelspeed read Health Secretary RFK Jr. is a longtime anti-vaccine activist who has criticized the panel of experts
-
RFK Jr. scraps Covid shots for pregnant women, kidsSpeed Read The Health Secretary announced a policy change without informing CDC officials
-
New FDA chiefs limit Covid-19 shots to elderly, sickspeed read The FDA set stricter approval standards for booster shots
-
US overdose deaths plunged 27% last yearspeed read Drug overdose still 'remains the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18-44,' said the CDC
