Att D - CDC Vital Signs Sample

August 2012

48%
About half of all adults get
enough aerobic physical activity*
to improve their health.

6 in 10

Walking is the most
popular aerobic physical
activity. About 6 in 10
adults reported walking
for at least 10 minutes in
the previous week.

6%

More People Walk
to Better Health
More than 145 million adults now include
walking as part of a physically active
lifestyle. More than 6 in 10 people walk for
transportation or for fun, relaxation, or
exercise, or for activities such as walking the
dog. The percentage of people who report
walking at least once for 10 minutes or more
in the previous week rose from 56% (2005) to
62% (2010).
Physical activity helps control weight, but it has
other benefits. Physical activity such as walking
can help improve health even without weight
loss. People who are physically active live
longer and have a lower risk for heart disease,
stroke, type 2 diabetes, depression, and some
cancers. Improving spaces and having safe
places to walk can help more people become
physically active.

See page 4

Adults who walk for
transportation, fun, or exercise
went up 6 percent in 5 years.

Want to learn more? Visit

www

http://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns

*Aerobic activities like brisk walking, running, swimming and
bicycling make you breathe harder and make your heart and
blood vessels healthier.

National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity
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Americans need more
physical activity
Problem
1. Less than half of all adults get the
recommended amount of physical
activity.

◊◊Adults need at least 2 and 1/2 hours (150
minutes) a week of aerobic physical activity.
This should be at a moderate level, such as a
fast-paced walk for no less than 10 minutes
at a time.
◊◊Women and older adults are not as likely
to get the recommended level of weekly
physical activity.
◊◊Inactive adults have higher risk for early
death, heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes,
depression, and some cancers.
◊◊Regular physical activity helps people get
and keep a healthy weight.
◊◊Walkable communities result in more
physical activity.

2. More people are walking, but just how
many depends on where they live, their
health, and their age.

◊◊ More adults with arthritis or high blood
pressure are now walking, but not those with
type 2 diabetes.
◊◊ Walking increased among adults 65 or older,
but less than in other age groups.

3. People need safe, convenient places to
walk.

◊◊ People are more likely to walk and move about
more when they feel protected from traffic and
safe from crime and hazards.
• Maintaining surfaces can keep people who
walk from falling and getting hurt. This also
helps wheelchairs and strollers and is safer
for people with poor vision.
◊◊ People need to know where places to walk
in their communities exist that are safe and
convenient.
◊◊ Walking routes in and near neighborhoods
encourage people to walk to stops for buses,
trains, and trolleys.

◊◊ The West and Northeast regions have the
highest percentage of adults who walk in the
country, but the South showed the largest
percent increase of adults who walk compared
to the other regions.

The Guide to Community Preventive Services recommends:
• Creating more places for physical activity with information and outreach that
lets people know where these are.
• Considering walkability in community design .
• Using community-wide campaigns to provide health education and social
support for physical activity.To see the full recommendations:
http://www.thecommunityguide.org/pa/index.html
2

People walk

to get to places they want to go
when places are nearby.
1%
% of Trips to Shops
by Walking
•Within 1 mile - 40%
•Within 3-4 miles - 1%

1%
Within
3-4 miles

Within
3-4 miles

35%

40%

% of Trips to Work
by Walking
•Within 1 miles - 35%
•Within 3-4 miles – 1%

Within
1 mile

Within
1 mile

1%
Within
3-4 miles

5%

46%
Within
1 mile

Within
1 mile

Within
3-4 miles

60%

% of Trips to School or
Church by Walking
•Within 1 mile – 46%
•Within 3-4 miles – 1%

% of Trips for Social or
Recreational Fun
by Walking
•Within 1 mile - 60%
•Within 3-4 miles - 5%

SOURCE: USDOT, Federal Highway Administration,
2009 National Household Travel Survey.

Percentage of adults
who walk for physical activity
White, non-Hispanic

18-24 years

Black, non-Hispanic

25-34 years

Hispanic

35-44 years

Other race

45-64 years

Needs help to walk

2005

Does not need
help to walk

2010
0

20

40

60

SOURCE: CDC National Health Interview Survey, 2005, 2010.

80

100

2005

65+ years

2010
0

20

40

60

80

100

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What Can Be Done
US government is

Employers can

◊◊Working with partners to carry out the
National Prevention Strategy to make physical
activity easier where people live, work,
and play www.healthcare.gov/prevention/
nphpphc/strategy/index.html.

◊◊Create and support walking programs
for employees.
◊◊Identify walking paths around or near the
work place and promote them with signs
and route maps.

◊◊Helping people get active through programs
like Community Transformation Grants and
Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity
state programs www.cdc.gov/obesity/
stateprograms/cdc.html, and by working with
partners like Safe Routes to Schools
www.saferoutespartnership.org/.

◊◊Provide places at work to shower or change
clothes, when possible.

Individuals can
◊◊Start a walking group with friends
and neighbors.

◊◊Studying ways that communities can make it
easy and convenient for people to be
more active.

◊◊Help others walk more safely by driving the
speed limit and yielding to people who walk.
◊◊Use crosswalks and crossing signals when
crossing streets and not jaywalk.

State and local government can

◊◊Participate in local planning efforts that
identify best sites for walking
paths andsidewalks.

◊◊Considering walking when creating long-range
community plans.
◊◊Consider designing local streets and roadways
that are safe for people who walk and other
road users.
◊◊Consider opportunities to let community
residents use local school tracks or gyms after
classes have finished.
◊◊Make sure existing sidewalks and walking
paths are kept in good condition, well lit and
free of problems such as snow, rocks, trash,
and fallen tree limbs.
◊◊Promote walking paths with signs that are easy
to read, and route maps that the public can
easily find and use.

◊◊Work with parents and schools to encourage
children to walk to school where safe.

www

http://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns

www

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr

For more information, please contact

Telephone: 1-800-CDC-INFO (232-4636)
TTY: 1-888-232-6348
E-mail: [email protected]
Web: www.cdc.gov
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
1600 Clifton Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30333
Publication date: 08/08/2012

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