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Good Job! Exercise Is on the Rise

Americans have stepped up the amount they exercise. But is it enough to make a difference in the obesity epidemic?

From 2001 to 2005, American women increased their regular physical activity by more than 8% and men boosted their activities by 3.5%, according to a CDC survey. In 2005, almost half of Americans exercised at a moderate intensity for at least 30 minutes a day on five or more days a week or exercised at a vigorous intensity on three or more days a week or both. That may be the good news. The potentially not-so-good news is that this boost in physical activity has not made a dent in the country’s expanding waistline.

“Calorie balance is like a scale,” says Isa Miles, ScD, MS, an Epidemic Intelligence Service officer for the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. “To reduce the prevalence of obesity in the United States, Americans must not only increase their levels of physical activity, but also decrease their caloric intake. Thus, a significant increase in physical activity alone [as demonstrated by the report] would not be sufficient to decrease the prevalence of obesity.”

The CDC recommends at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity on most (preferably all) days to help decrease the risk of obesity, heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, certain cancers, and premature mortality. Miles cautions, however, that “Thirty minutes of activity may be insufficient for individual weight loss.”