Highest rates of physical inactivity in Appalachia and the South

American adults who live in parts of the South and Appalachian regions are least likely to engage in physical activity during their leisure time, according to CDC estimates published online.

In more than 70% of counties in these regions, at least 29.2% of adults said they engaged in no additional physical activity or exercise outside of their regular job, the CDC reported in a press release.

The CDC surveyed every county in the US between 2004 and 2008 to estimate leisure-time activity levels and posted its findings online.

According to the data, Americans are most likely to be active during their leisure time if they live on the West Coast, parts of the Northeast or in Colorado or Minnesota, and least likely to be active if they live in Alabama, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Tennessee.

The estimates are a product of the CDC’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. This system combines 2007 census data with self-reported information from state-based adult telephone surveys. Adults who were surveyed were asked if they participated in any physical activities or exercise outside of their regular job.

A separate CDC survey from 2008 found that 25.4% of US adults spent none of their free time engaging in physical activity. Physical activities were broadly defined, from running and golfing to gardening and walking. The current estimates, combined with the 2008 survey and previously released CDC maps showing diabetes and obesity rates across the US, form “a map that shows the highest levels of diagnosed diabetes, leisure-time physical inactivity and obesity in the South and parts of Appalachia,” according to the press release.

“Physical activity is crucial to managing diabetes and reducing serious complications of the disease,” Ann Albright, PhD, director of CDC’s Division of Diabetes Translation, said in the release. “Moderate intensity activities such as dancing or brisk walking, for just 150 minutes a week, can significantly improve the health of people with diabetes or at high risk for the disease.”

CDC officials said they hope that policymakers and community organizations will use the estimates to support health-conscious legislation and urban planning at state and community levels. “Chronic diseases, like diabetes, are a burden on our health care system,” Janet E. Fulton, PhD, of CDC’s Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity, said in the release. “We need changes in communities that make it safe and easy to be active. Sidewalks, street lights, and access to parks or recreation areas can encourage people to get out and move more.”

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