Statistics on Exercise

When it comes to physical activity, how do you compare with your fellow Americans? The following numbers are from the 1996 report “Physical Activity and Health: A Report of the Surgeon General.”

* About 25% of Americans 18 and older (about 47.6 million) report no leisure-time physical activity.

* About 22% of American adults report regular sustained physical activity of any intensity lasting 30 minutes or more five times a week.

* About 15% of U.S. adults engage in regular vigorous physical activity three times a week for at least 20 minutes.

* Physical inactivity is more prevalent among older adults, the less affluent and those with less than a 12th-grade education.

* Less active, less fit people have a 30% to 50% greater risk of developing high blood pressure.

* About 250,000 deaths a year in the U.S.--about 12% of total deaths--are attributed to a lack of regular physical activity.