Exercise is just a little bit less of a priority to Americans this year compared with last, and only one in five U.S. adults is getting the recommended amount of exercise, according to two new reports.
The first report, released by Gallup researchers, examined the number of Americans regularly exercising this year compared with last. In April 2013, 52.4 percent of Americans said they exercised for at least a half hour three days a week. The same time last year, 53.9 percent of Americans said they exercised with that frequency, according to Gallup researchers.
The number of Americans saying they exercise for at least a half hour three days a week was also lower in March 2013 than March 2012 -- 51.2 percent versus 53.3 percent -- February 2013 than February 2012 -- 49.2 percent versus 51 percent -- and January 2013 than January 2012 -- 47.7 percent versus 49.1 percent.
Gallup researchers noted that winter had been unusually cold this year, which might explain the lower numbers of people exercising. The findings are based on phone surveys of 30,252 adults throughout the U.S.
In the second new report, released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, government researchers found that only 20 percent of Americans get the recommended two-and-a-half hours a week of moderate aerobic exercise plus two or more days of strength exercise.
The report, based on phone survey results from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, also showed that about half of all Americans do the recommended aerobic exercise, and 30 percent do the recommended strength exercise.
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