Exercise not a priority for the majority of Americans

How many Americans are exercising? The answer might surprise you (or it might not). Here’s a look at the numbers.

• In 2008, 31.9% of U.S. adults aged 18 years and over engaged in regular leisure-time physical activity, which was higher than, but not significantly different from, the 2007 estimate of 30.8%.
• The annual percentages of adults aged 18 years and over who engaged in regular leisure-time physical activity ranged from 29.8% in 1998 to 32.8% in 2003.
• For adults aged 18–24 years, 65-74 years, and 75 years and over, women were less likely than men to engage in regular leisure-time physical activity.
• The age-sex-adjusted percentage of adults who engaged in regular leisure-time physical activity was 24.5% for Hispanic adults, 35.4% for non-Hispanic white adults, and 24.6% for non-Hispanic black adults.