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Americans still not active enough despite guidelines
Sedentary behavior has significantly increased and aerobic activity has not improved in the United States since the release of the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans in 2008, according to study results published in JAMA Network Open.
The findings suggest that substantial nationwide efforts are needed to increase physical activity and disparage sedentary behavior, according to the researchers.
“In addition to engaging more in physical activity (ie, moving more), the 2018 [Physical Activity Guidelines] recommends that Americans reduce sedentary time (ie, sit less),” Yang Du, MD, MS, of the department of epidemiology in the College of Public Health at the University of Iowa, and colleagues wrote. “Sedentary behavior has received increasing attention as a public health issue because it is prevalent in the populations and is associated with adverse health outcomes independent of physical activity levels.”
The Physical Activity Guidelines, first released in 2008, called for a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic exercise, and a 2018 update called for decreased sedentary behavior.
To assess adherence to the guidelines, researchers used data from 2007 to 2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys.
A total of 27,343 participants were included in the analysis. The weighted adherence rate did not change significantly, with a rate of 63.2% (95% CI, 60.2-66.1) in the 2007-2008 survey and 65.2% (95% CI, 62.3-68.2) in the 2015-2016 survey.
Sedentary behavior significantly increased, starting with a weighted mean 5.7 hours per day in 2007-2008 to a mean 6.4 hours per day in 2015-2016. Participants in the 2013-2014 survey reported the highest rates of sedentary behavior, with a mean 7.9 hours per day.
The proportion of those who did not meet the Physical Activity Guidelines recommendation for aerobic activity and reported more than 6 hours of sedentary behavior each day increased from 16.1% (95% CI, 14.4-17.8) in 2007-2008 to 18.8% (95% CI, 17.7-20) in 2015-2016, with the highest proportion reported in the 2013-2014 survey (25.9%; 95% CI, 23.9-27.8).
In a commentary published with the study, Katrina L. Piercy, PhD, RD, of the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion in HHS, explained that the Physical Activity Guidelines are public health targets, but individuals can start to see health benefits from much lower levels of physical activity.
“Ideally, people should meet the [Physicial Activity Guidelines] targets to obtain the most of the health benefits, but considering that currently 25% of adults do no leisure-time physical activity, any increase in physical activity is good,” Piercy said.
Healio Primary Care compiled some recent research about the impact of sedentary behavior and the importance of physical activity in healthy lifestyles. – by Erin Michael
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Disclosures: The authors report no relevant financial disclosures.