Americans aren't getting enough exercise

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.
Subscribe to 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.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Shivani is the editorial assistant at TheWeek.com and has previously written for StreetEasy and Mic.com. A graduate of the physics and journalism departments at NYU, Shivani currently lives in Brooklyn and spends free time cooking, watching TV, and taking too many selfies.
-
Harvard sues Trump over frozen grant money
Speed Read The Trump administration withheld $2.2 billion in federal grants and contracts after Harvard rejected its demands
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Trump tariffs place trucking industry in the crosshairs
IN THE SPOTLIGHT As the White House barrels ahead with its massive tariff project, American truckers are feeling the heat from a global trade war
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Trump stands by Hegseth amid ouster reports
Speed Read The president dismissed reports that he was on the verge of firing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over a second national security breach
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
RFK Jr. visits Texas as 2nd child dies from measles
Speed Read An outbreak of the vaccine-preventable disease continues to grow following a decade of no recorded US measles deaths
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Shingles vaccine cuts dementia risk, study finds
Speed Read Getting vaccinated appears to significantly reduce the chances of developing Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Measles outbreak spreads, as does RFK Jr.'s influence
Speed Read The outbreak centered in Texas has grown to at least three states and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is promoting unproven treatments
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
RFK Jr. offers alternative remedies as measles spreads
Speed Read Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. makes unsupported claims about containing the spread as vaccine skepticism grows
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Texas outbreak brings 1st US measles death since 2015
Speed read The outbreak is concentrated in a 'close-knit, undervaccinated' Mennonite community in rural Gaines County
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Mystery illness spreading in Congo rapidly kills dozens
Speed Read The World Health Organization said 53 people have died in an outbreak that originated in a village where three children ate a bat carcass
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Ozempic can curb alcohol cravings, study finds
Speed read Weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy may also be helpful in limiting alcohol consumption
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
New form of H5N1 bird flu found in US dairy cows
Speed Read This new form of bird flu is different from the version that spread through herds in the last year
By Peter Weber, The Week US