DECLINING RATES OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IN THE UNITED STATES: What Are the Contributors?

Abstract

This review describes current patterns and long-term trends (up to 50 years when possible) related to (a) physical activity, (b) employment and occupation, (c) travel behavior, (d) land use, and (e) related behaviors (e.g., television watching). On the basis of available data, the following trends were observed according to type of physical activity: relatively stable or slightly increasing levels of leisure-time physical activity, declining work-related activity, declining transportation activity, declining activity in the home, and increasing sedentary activity. These result in an overall trend of declining total physical activity. Large differences were noted in the rates of walking for transportation across metropolitan statistical areas. A strong linear increase existed in vehicle miles traveled per person over the past half century, coupled with a strong and consistent trend toward Americans living in suburbs. Although it is difficult to precisely quantify owing to the lack of long-term data, it is apparent that a combination of changes to the built environment and increases in the proportion of the population engaging in sedentary activities put the majority of the American population at high risk of physical inactivity.

The Impact of a Temporary Recurrent Street Closure on Physical Activity in New York City

“…1 Just half of American adults reported meeting 2008 Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) weekly recommendations of 75 min of vigorous-intensity physical activity or 150 min of moderate-intensity physical activity. 2,3 In New York City (NYC), 60 % of adults reported meeting those recommendations in 2010.…”

Physical activity energy expenditure has not declined since the 1980s and matches energy expenditures of wild mammals

“…In the past few years, evidence has suggested that the primary problem lies not with increased energy intake [15][16][17][18] but with reduced expenditure, that is reduced physical activity. 15,[19][20][21] With respect to dietary intake, surveys between the 1970s and 2000s do not indicate that total energy consumption has increased. 15,16 Moreover, fat consumption seems to have decreased.…”

Sociodemographic and social contextual predictors of multiple health behavior change: data from the Healthy Directions–Small Business study

“…For example, in one recent multiple health behavior change intervention focused on nutrition, gender was not associated with behavior change [11]. An important aspect of addressing the disparities in healthy lifestyle behaviors by occupational class [2, [4][5][6][7][8] is identifying appropriate intervention strategies for worksites that employ substantial proportions of men.…”

“…Multiple modifiable health behaviors, such as diet and physical activity, are risk factors for these chronic diseases [2,3]. Disparities exist across US occupational classes and socioeconomic levels for meeting recommended goals for diet and physical activity; for example, blue-collar workers and people with lower socioeconomic position exhibit higher risk [2, [4][5][6][7][8]. While disparities in health behaviors across occupational class are well documented for discrete health behaviors [8], a few studies have also suggested that there may be disparities in clustering of health behaviors among people of different occupational classes and socioeconomic and education levels [9,10].…”