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Walking is the most popular leisure activity in the United States among both urban and rural residents, according to a new survey.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Researchers reported that urban dwellers also tend to engage in running, weightlifting, and dance, while people in rural areas also enjoy gardening, hunting, and fishing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The researchers said the differences in leisure activity choices could reflect what people have access to or what is culturally supported in certain areas. They added that urban residents were more likely to meet physical activity guidelines than people living in rural regions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The researchers, however, noted that even among walkers, only 25% met combined guidelines for aerobic and muscle-strengthening physical activity. About 22% did not meet either guideline.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The researchers reached their conclusions by analyzing telephone survey data collected from a national sample of 396,261 U.S. adults in 2019.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
They reported that 44% of respondents listed walking as the activity they spent the most time doing. The data closely matched another U.S. study from 2011.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The new findings were published today in the journal PLOS One<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The researchers said they hoped their study could help boost physical activity by encouraging people, as well as medical and fitness professionals, to tailor workouts to certain regions and demographics.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cWe see a need to continue to support our partners in small towns and rural places by creating physical, social, and cultural conditions that support physical activity,\u201d said Christiaan Abildso<\/a>, PhD, a physical activity specialist at West Virginia University and a lead author of the study, in a statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Everyone needs to ask, \u2018how does what we\u2019re doing affect physical activity,\u2019 in order to help get people more active, more often, in more places,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Abildso listed several steps community leaders can take to improve fitness opportunities. Among the suggestions:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cThis study aligns with other studies on physical activity in the U.S. population,\u201d said Michael Fredericson<\/a>, MD, a professor of orthopedic surgery at Stanford Medicine in California. Fredericson wasn\u2019t involved in the study.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cThis underscores the continued need to encourage easily accessible forms of exercise, such as walking, or more functional activities around the home, which are more doable for folks,\u201d Fredericson told Healthline.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n There are numerous benefits to daily walking, a low-stress activity that can help people exercise with a minimal risk of injury.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n A daily walking routine can also improve mood and support long-term weight management.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n A 2023 review<\/a> reported that walking<\/a> 8,000 to 10,000 steps per day can provide substantial cardiovascular health benefits as well as psychological well-being.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Gardening<\/a> can also be considered a moderate physical activity that supports weight management and helps build strength. The time outdoors in a garden can also help your body produce vitamin D<\/a>, which supports bone strength, calcium absorption, and immune function.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Gardening may also support mental well-being by improving mood and reducing stress.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cWalking and gardening can meet exercise recommendations for most people if performed at sufficient intensity and duration,\u201d said Fredericson. \u201cStill, hunting and fishing, unless there is a lot of walking\/hiking, typically do not provide adequate moderate-to-vigorous physical activity.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) The agency suggests that exercise could come in the form of brisk walking for 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week, or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity each week, such as swimming laps.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The CDC also states that adults need at least 2 days a week of muscle-strengthening activity.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n David Cutler<\/a>, MD, a family medicine physician at Providence Saint John\u2019s Health Center in Santa Monica, California, recommends people try to meet these minimal time standards in their fitness routines.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cThere should be greater emphasis for all adults to meet the minimum exercise guideline of 150 minutes per week,\u201d he told Healthline. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cTheir exercise routine should include more than just aerobic exercise, like walking, running, biking, swimming, or dancing. There should also be time devoted to muscle-strengthening exercises of both the upper and lower extremities. This could be as simple as using hand weights and squats.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Agency officials note that the \u201cexact amount of physical activity needed to maintain a healthy weight varies greatly from person to person.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Fredericson said a comprehensive weekly exercise program should contain four main components. Those are:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n He also suggested people can do \u201cexercise snacks,\u201d which consist of physical activity lasting 1 to 5 minutes performed periodically throughout the day. Those quick exercises can include stair climbing, brisk walking, and jumping jacks.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cThis approach has demonstrated high compliance rates and can significantly improve cardiorespiratory fitness, particularly in physically inactive adults,\u201d Fredericson said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Cutler agrees a wide variety of exercise is the best approach.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cIndividuals should supplement walking with muscle-strengthening exercises like yoga<\/a> or resistance bands, and higher-intensity activities such as running<\/a>, dancing<\/a>, or cycling<\/a>,\u201d he said. \u201cEffective ways to increase activity include utilizing community infrastructure like rail-trails, joining senior center programming, and creating local, accessible activity spaces.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n