PHYSICAL ACTIVITY FUNDAMENTAL TO PREVENT DISEASES

Regular physical activity, fitness, and exercise are critically important for the health and well being of people of all ages. Research has demonstrated that virtually all individuals can benefit from regular physical activity, whether they participate in vigorous exercise or some type of moderate health-enhancing physical activity. Even among frail and very old adults, mobility and functioning can be improved through physical activity. Therefore, physical fitness should be a priority for Americans of all ages.

Regular physical activity has been shown to reduce the morbidity and mortality from many chronic diseases. Millions of Americans suffer from chronic illnesses that can be prevented or improved through regular physical activity:

• 12.6 million people have coronary heart disease
• 1.1 million people suffer from a heart attack in a given year;
• 17 million people have diabetes; about 90% to 95% of cases are type 2 diabetes, which is associated with obesity and physical inactivity; approximately 16 million people have ‘pre diabetes’;
• 107,000 people are newly diagnosed with colon cancer each year;
• 300,000 people suffer from hip fractures each year;
• 50 million people have high blood pressure; and
• Nearly 50 million adults (between the ages of 20 and 74), or 27% of the adult population, are obese; overall more than 108 million adults, or 61% of the adult population are either obese or overweight.

In a 1993 study, 14 percent of all deaths in the United States were attributed to activity patterns and diet. Another study linked sedentary lifestyles to 23 percent of deaths from major chronic diseases. For example, physical activity has been shown to reduce the risk of developing or dying from heart disease, diabetes, colon cancer, and high blood pressure. On average, people who are physically active outlive those who are inactive.

Despite the well-known benefits of physical activity, most adults and many children lead a relatively sedentary lifestyle and are not active enough to achieve these health benefits. A sedentary lifestyle is defined as engaging in no leisure-time physical activity (exercises, sports, physically active hobbies) in a two-week period. Data from the National Health Interview Survey shows that in 1997-98 nearly four in 10 (38.3 percent) adults reported no participation in leisure- time physical activity.