41 million Americans are estimated to have pre-diabetes. Type 2 diabetes, once called “adult onset” diabetes, high blood pressure, and …
Physical Activity Facts
Citation: US Department of Health and Human Services The following
facts are based on information from publications prepared by agencies and
offices of the Department of Health and Human Services: the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention; the National Center for Health Statistics;
the Office of the Surgeon General of the United States Physical Activity
and Health, 1996; Call to Action to Prevent and Decrease Overweight and
Obesity, 2001, and the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
Healthy People 2010
Adults 18 and older need 30 minutes of physical activity on five or
more days a week to be healthy; children and teens need 60 minutes of
activity a day for their health
Significant health benefits can be obtained by including a moderate
amount of physical activity eg, 30 minutes of brisk walking or
raking leaves, 15 minutes of running, 45 minutes of playing
volleyball Additional health benefits can be gained through greater
amounts of physical activity
Thirty to sixty minutes of activity broken into smaller segments of 10
or 15 minutes throughout the day has significant health
benefits
Moderate daily physical activity can reduce substantially the risk of
developing or dying from cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and
certain cancers, such as colon cancer Daily physical activity helps
to lower blood pressure and cholesterol, helps prevent or retard
osteoporosis, and helps reduce obesity, symptoms of anxiety and
depression, and symptoms of arthritis
Heart disease is the leading cause of death among men and women in the
United States Physically inactive people are twice as likely to
develop coronary heart disease as regularly active people
37 of adults report they are not physically active Only 3 in 10
adults get the recommended amount of physical activity
Poor diet and inactivity can lead to overweight/obesity Persons who
are overweight or obese are at increased risk for high blood pressure,
type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, gallbladder disease,
osteoarthritis, sleep apnea, respiratory problems and some types of
cancer
41 million Americans are estimated to have pre-diabetes Most people
with pre-diabetes develop type 2 diabetes
within 10 years, unless they
make changes to their diet and physical activity that results in a
loss of about 5-7 percent of their body weight
Obesity continues to climb among American adults Nearly 60 million
Americans are obese More than 108 million adults are either obese or
overweight That means roughly 3 out of 5 Americans carry an unhealthy
amount of excess weight
The percentage of adults in the United States who were overweight or
obese body mass index greater than or equal to 25 in 1999-2002 was
65 percent Overweight and obesity cuts across all ages, racial and
ethnic groups, and both genders A new study in the Netherlands found
that excess weight cuts years off your life
16 percent of children and teens aged 6 to 19 were overweight in 1999-
2002, triple the proportion in 1980 Fifteen-percent of children in
the same age group are considered at-risk for overweight The
percentage of overweight African American, Hispanic, and Native
American children is about 20
More than 10 percent of children between the ages of 2 and 5 are
overweight, double the proportion since
1980
Health risks associated with being overweight or obese include type 2
diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, asthma, arthritis
The major barriers most people face when trying to increase physical
activity are time, access to convenient facilities, and safe
environments in which to be active
School and worksite interventions have been shown to be successful in
increasing physical activity levels
Type 2 diabetes, once called adult onset diabetes, high blood
pressure, and high cholesterol, once thought to be age-related, are
now diagnosed in children and teens
Physical activity among children and adolescents is important because
of the related health benefits cardio-respiratory function, blood
pressure control, weight management, cognitive and emotional
benefits
According to a study done by the National Association of Sports and
Physical Education NASPE, infants, toddlers, and pre-schoolers
should engage in at least 60 minutes of physical activity daily and
should not be sedentary for more than 60 minutes at a time except when
sleeping
One quarter of
US children spend 4 hours or more watching television
daily
Young people are at particular risk for becoming sedentary as they
grow older Encouraging moderate and vigorous physical activity among
youth is important Because children spend most of their time in
school, the type and amount of physical activity encouraged in schools
is important
Only 25 percent of students in grades 9 through 12 engaged in moderate
physical activity for at least 30 minutes on 5 or more of the previous
7 days in 2003
Only 28 percent of students in grades 9 through 12 participated in
daily school physical education in 2003, down from 42 percent in 1991
Source:aad.org
