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Thu
May 15,10:30 AM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A quarter of all Americans get virtually no exercise, raising their risk of heart disease, diabetes and cancer, a government report said on Wednesday.
Only 19 percent get a "high" level of physical activity at
work or in their free time, the survey by the National Center
for Health Statistics found.
The report, based on 32,000 interviews conducted in 2000,
found blacks and Hispanics were less likely to exercise than
whites, with just 15 percent reporting they get a high level of
physical activity.
Education, income and marital status all affect whether
someone exercises.
"About one in four adults with an advanced degree engage in
a high level of overall physical activity, compared to one in
seven of those with less than a high school diploma," the NCHS
said in a statement.
"Adults with incomes below the poverty level are three
times as likely to be physically inactive as adults in the
highest income group."
Married women are more likely to exercise than women who
have not married and men are more likely to exercise than
women. The southern United States has the highest percentage of
couch potatoes.
"Physical activity -- whether it's walking the dog or
simply taking the stairs at work -- is essential to good
health," Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson
said in a statement.
"This study helps give us an even fuller picture of our
physical activity status," Thompson said. "It confirms that we
need to pay more attention to getting adequate physical
activity and reversing the alarming rise in obesity that we've
experienced nationally during the past decade."
Light or moderate activity was defined as exercise lasting
at least 10 minutes that caused light sweating or a slight to
moderate rise in breathing and heart rate. Vigorous activity
causes profuse sweating, heavy breathing and a pounding heart
rate.
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