The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report at the end of 2008 stating that one third of Americans were not meeting bare minimum activity recommendations and advised that additional efforts be made to increase activity. Now a new article published in the Journal of Physical Activity and Health shows the results of two surveys given to over 62,000 Americans over the age of 18. The surveys asked about exercise and leisure time activity habits and showed that up to 75% of people may not be exercising regularly. Although different organizations and research give us different results, the overall message is clear: Americans are not exercising enough.

Researchers analyzed the results of two large-scale national surveys. The first was the American Time Use Survey, given to 45,246 Americans. For this survey, respondents reported all activities on one randomly selected survey day. The other survey chosen was the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which was administered to 17,061 people. This survey measured leisure-time physical activities in the 30 days before the interview. Results indicated that only 25% of adults were active during the one randomly selected survey day and also concluded that only 61% of adults had participated in physical activity within the past 30 days. These study results indicate that 39% of Americans are either inactive or active less than once per month.

  International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association (IHRSA), 2009