More Americans are lacing up their shoes to go walking, but most aren’t getting enough exercise to make a real difference in their health, according to a survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The study’s findings came from the 2005 and 2010 CDC’s National Health Surveys which surveyed over 20,000 adults. The findings showed the number of people who said they walked at least once for 10 minutes or more in the past week jumped from about 56 percent in 2005 to 62 percent in 2010. However, despite the good news that more adults are taking walks, 48 percent of all adults still aren’t getting enough exercise to make a helpful dent in their overall health.
The CDC report suggests ways communities can support walking by allowing the use of local school facilities for physical activity, increasing the number of sidewalks and bike lanes, and by encouraging employers promoting walking during work breaks.
“More than 145 million adults are now getting some of their physical activity by walking,” said CDC Director Thomas R. Frieden. “People who are physically active live longer and are at lower risk for heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, depression and some cancers. Having more places for people to walk in our communities will help us continue to see increases in walking.”
Additional exercise guidelines can be found on CDC’s website.
Tags: CDC, physical activity, walking
