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United States Value:
Percentage of adults who met the federal physical activity guidelines (150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity and two days of muscle strengthening per week) in the past 30 days
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Percentage of adults who met the federal physical activity guidelines (150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity and two days of muscle strengthening per week) in the past 30 days
Percentage of adults who met the federal physical activity guidelines (150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity and two days of muscle strengthening per week) in the past 30 days
Percentage of adults who met the federal physical activity guidelines (150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity and two days of muscle strengthening per week) in the past 30 days
CDC, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System
Percentage of adults who met the federal physical activity guidelines (150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity and two days of muscle strengthening per week) in the past 30 days
CDC, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System
US Value: 23.0%
Top State(s): Vermont: 28.5%
Bottom State(s): Kentucky: 15.3%
Definition: Percentage of adults who met the federal physical activity guidelines (150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity and two days of muscle strengthening per week) in the past 30 days
Data Source and Years: CDC, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2019
Suggested Citation: America's Health Rankings analysis of CDC, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, United Health Foundation, AmericasHealthRankings.org, accessed 2023.
Being physically active and reducing sedentary behavior has many health benefits. Regular physical activity (at least 150 minutes a week) is associated with reduced risk of cardiovascular diseases, such as heart disease, stroke and hypertension; Type 2 diabetes; certain cancers, including bladder, breast and colon cancer; dementia; and anxiety and depression.
Key physical activity guidelines for adults include:
Getting more exercise is associated with lower health care expenditures. A 2015 study found that physically active adults spend, on average, $920 less on health care expenses per year than their inactive counterparts.
The prevalence of exercise (sufficient to meet aerobic and muscle strengthening guidelines) is higher among:
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) makes several recommendations for community efforts to increase physical activity, including built environment approaches to make it easier for people to walk, run, bike, skate or use wheelchairs to get to where they need to go.
County Health Rankings and Roadmaps lists many policies and programs that improve health through exercise and physical activity, including:
Healthy People 2030 has several objectives that focus on increasing the proportion of adults who do enough physical activity.
Carlson, Susan A., Janet E. Fulton, Michael Pratt, Zhou Yang, and E. Kathleen Adams. “Inadequate Physical Activity and Health Care Expenditures in the United States.” Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases, 2013 Global Congress on Physical Activity - All Hearts Need Exercise: A Global Call to Action by the AHA, 57, no. 4 (January 1, 2015): 315–23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pcad.2014.08.002.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2nd Edition.” Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2018. https://health.gov/sites/default/files/2019-09/Physical_Activity_Guidelines_2nd_edition.pdf.
Valero-Elizondo, Javier, Joseph A. Salami, Chukwuemeka U. Osondu, Oluseye Ogunmoroti, Alejandro Arrieta, Erica S. Spatz, Adnan Younus, et al. “Economic Impact of Moderate-Vigorous Physical Activity Among Those With and Without Established Cardiovascular Disease: 2012 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey.” Journal of the American Heart Association 5, no. 9 (August 29, 2016). https://doi.org/10.1161/JAHA.116.003614.
America’s Health Rankings builds on the work of the United Health Foundation to draw attention to public health and better understand the health of various populations. Our platform provides relevant information that policymakers, public health officials, advocates and leaders can use to effect change in their communities.
We have developed detailed analyses on the health of key populations in the country, including women and children, seniors and those who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces, in addition to a deep dive into health disparities across the country.