How much exercise does an obese woman get each year? It's far, far less than you might expect. In fact, a new study reveals that the average obese woman gets only one hour of vigorous exercise each year. The findings shed light on the importance of exercise when changing to a healthy lifestyle.
The government recommends that adults should try to get two hours and 30 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity each week. In addition, they should do muscle-strengthening activities on two or more days a week that work all major muscle groups. Yet a new study reveals that the average obese adults doesn't take this recommendation to heart.
"They're living their lives from one chair to another," said Edward Archer, one of the researchers, in an interview with WebMD. "We didn't realize we were that sedentary. There are some people who are vigorously active, but it's offset by the huge number of individuals who are inactive."
In order to examine exactly how much exercise people were receiving, the researchers tracked the weight, diet and sleep patterns of about 2,600 adults, aged 20 to 74. In all, they followed the participants for one year, between 2005 and 2006. The volunteers also wore accelerometers so that the scientists could rely on this data instead of self-reports. In the end, they found that men received just under four hours of exercise per year while women received just one hour.
"People don't understand that [you] don't have to go to the gym and lift weights and run marathons to have dramatic impacts on your body," said Archer in an interview with MedicalDaily. "Standing rather than sitting, walking rather than taking your car, they have huge impacts on your health over time."
In the past, Americans had a far more active lifestyle as many were employed as manual laborers, working in farms and factories. Yet that changed with the advance of technology, and now it's crucial to take that extra time to work out, or even just make a few lifestyle changes.
Instead of sitting still, get up and move. An hour of exercise per year is nowhere near enough, and a bit more movement could change your life for the better.
