The American Physical Activity Guidelines
Fitness is more than a cosmetic goal.
A healthy lifestyle includes both aerobic and muscle strengthening activities. These exercises can reduce your risk for chronic diseases, improve mental health and even increase your lifespan.
According to the official physical activity guidelines for Americans, 150-300 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week (or even more) is recommended. Walking, swimming, cycling, gardening, yoga and dancing are all examples of moderate-intensity aerobic activity.
You can also aim to do 75-150 minutes of intense aerobic exercise per week, such as running, swimming laps or jumping rope.
Guidelines for adults recommend that you work out your major muscle groups at least twice a week.
Limitations to the Survey
The survey report is not without limitations.
Data was collected during 2020 COVID Pandemic which may have affected physical behavior and tainted the results.
Self-reported physical activities are prone to “recall biased” and the assessment did not take into consideration physical activity in transportation or occupations.
The National Health Interview Survey results show that everyone should be encouraged to increase their physical activity.
Nearly half of Americans do not meet the physical activity guidelines. It is clear that there needs to be more done to encourage people to prioritize healthy habits.
Tips to Increase Your Physical Activity
Here’s a list of tips that will help you add more physical activity to your daily routine.
* Make it social: Invite family and friends to join you on a walk, a hike or a workout. It’s more fun to exercise with someone else.
* Make household chores a workout. Vacuuming and gardening are all examples of household chores that can be counted as physical exercise. Turn on music and dance as you do your chores.
* Make a few small changes in your daily routine: Walk or cycle to work instead of taking the elevator.
* Set realistic and achievable goals. Start small, but set goals you can reach. You will gain momentum and develop a healthy habit.
You can experiment with different physical activities until you find one you like. This will keep you motivated.
* Make the most of technology: Track your progress with fitness apps and wearable devices.
* Get up and stretch every hour. It will also keep your energy level up and help prevent burnout.
We can improve our health and wellbeing by incorporating physical activity into our daily lives and incorporating small changes to our routines.
Don’t let 46.3% Americans be you. Commit to physical fitness today.
