If you live in Washington — state or DC — odds are decent that you’re getting a fair amount of physical activity. The same is true for residents of Colorado, Oregon and Utah. Other than that? Well then, things aren’t looking quite so good.
That’s according to the results of a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, amassed over the course of 4 years, which looked into physical activity rates for states and territories across the United States. Those who responded that they had not “participate[d] in any physical activities or exercises such as running, calisthenics, golf, gardening, or walking for exercise” were classified as “physically inactive” for purposes of the study.
At Gizmodo, Ed Cara provides some analysis of what the CDC’s report means. To start with, there’s this alarming statistic: “Across all 50 states, at least 15 percent of adults reported being physically inactive, while in some areas of the country, nearly 50 percent of adults said they got no form of exercise.”
The states (plus Washington, DC) listed above were the only ones where less than 20 percent of residents were considered physically inactive. Which locations had the largest share of physically inactive residents? According to the CDC’s report, that’s a nine-way tie:
In 7 states (Tennessee, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Alabama, Kentucky, Arkansas, and Mississippi), and 2 US territories (Puerto Rico, and Guam), 30% or more of adults were physically inactive.
Admittedly, we also live in a society where people often find it difficult to take time for exercise, and where proper work-life balance is hard to pull off. The results of the CDC’s study are alarming, but they’re not that much of a surprise.
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