Which states are the laziest? A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention just offered a big clue.
For over 35 years, the CDC has conducted The Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance System, which interviews almost half a million people each year from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam.
From 2015-2018, surveyors asked those residents: “During the past month, other than your regular job, did you participate in any physical activities or exercises such as running, calisthenics, golf, gardening or walking for exercise?” according to Fox News.
This month the CDC finished evaluating those answers, and has now released the results to the public.
Here’s a breakdown of the findings.
- Every area surveyed had more than 15% of residents say they hadn’t been physically active in the past month, and some areas did worse than others.
- Utah came in third overall. The report found 18.6% of Beehive State residents hadn’t been active during their leisure time in the past month.
- Colorado topped the entire nation with 17.3% of its residents saying they hadn’t been active. Washington narrowly scraped ahead of Utah into second with 18.3%.
- Puerto Rico came in last for physical activity, with almost half of those surveyed (47.7%) saying they hadn’t been active in the past month.
- The other laziest states and areas were Mississippi with 33% of residents saying they hadn’t exercised; Kentucky and Arkansas with 32.2% and 32.5%, respectively; Guam and Alabama both had 31%; and Tennessee, Oklahoma and Louisiana with 30%, 30.2% and 30.9%, respectively.
While the CDC has different exercise guidelines depending on age and ability, for most adults the organization recommends 30 minutes of exercise, five times a week.
According to the BBC, lack of exercise increases the risk of heart problems, osteoporosis and strokes, and decreases energy levels, which can affect family relationships.