One in four Americans never exercise, according to the latest Report on Physical Activity by the CDC. Props for honesty? Only Alaska, Colorado, and Washington D.C. report that at least 25 percent of their citizens get the minimum amount of exercise per week as recommended by the CDC.
Official guidelines recommend that adults get a minimum of 150 minutes (2.5 hours) of activity a week but advise 300 minutes (5 hours) weekly for optimal health. In addition, the CDC says adults should be doing some type of strength training two days a week.
Colorado was the most active state with 61.8 percent of adults meeting the minimum standard for aerobic exercise—27.3 percent doing both the recommended cardio and weight training—and a mere 16 percent not exercising at all. The other sweaty states rounding out the top five include Utah, California, D.C., and Oregon (in that order).
Mississippians were the least active with 40 percent of adults meeting the minimum and 36 percent reporting no exercise at all. Tennessee, West Virginia, Louisiana, and Alabama finish off the top five least active states.
Parks within walking distance may play a large part in encouraging activity, with 88 percent of D.C. residents within a half-mile of a park, while only 9 percent of West Virginians are.
One thing that's clear from the charts and graphs, however, is that for whatever reason, the vast majority of people are having a hard time meeting those goals. The CDC recommends a 3-point approach to helping people get their move on, more often
1. Creating or enhancing access to safe places for physical activity.
2. Enhancing physical education and physical activity in schools and child care settings.
3. Supporting street-scale and community-scale design policy.
How does your state stack up? Check out the full list in the CDC's report (page 18).