Not so much apparently:
On any given day, most U.S. adults report performing predominantly sedentary and light activities, according to a new study published in the October issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Overall only 5.07% report any vigorous intensity activity. ..... researchers from the Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, used data collected between 2003-2008 from close to 80,000 respondents to the American Time Use Survey (ATUS). This nationally representative telephone-based survey captures activities that people recall doing during the preceding 24 hours. These data were coupled with published Metabolic Equivalent (MET) intensity values in order to group activities into sedentary, light, moderate, and vigorous categories. While most Americans engage in sedentary activities such as eating and drinking (95.6%), followed by watching television/movies (80.1%), and light activities such as washing, dressing, and grooming oneself (78.9%), and driving a car, truck, or motorcycle (71.4%), most did not engage in moderate or vigorous activities. The most frequently reported moderate activities were food and drink preparation (25.7%), followed by lawn, garden, and houseplant care (10.6%). The most frequently reported vigorous activities were using cardiovascular equipment (2.2%) and running (1.1%).
What I want to know is how much the expercise equipment I see in the houses I look at gets used.
The BLS also writes up some data from the ATUS. They find that on any given day only 16% of Americans do any exercise, including (volunatary) 'walking'. Surprising to me is how many people go to the gym to life weights.
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