As today’s Americans fail to reach the recommended levels of physical activity, they continue to pay the consequences with their health and with their checkbooks.

The good news about being active*

If you are inactive, you can improve your health and well-being by becoming even moderately active on a regular basis. Even more, physical activity doesn’t have to be strenuous to achieve health benefits.
Source:CDC

• Physical Activity reduces the risk of…

–Dying prematurely
–Dying from heart disease
–Developing diabetes
–Developing high blood pressure and reduces blood pressure in those who already have high blood pressure
–Developing colon cancer
–Feeling depressed

• Physical Activity…

–Helps build and maintain healthy bones, muscles, and joints
–Promotes psychological well-being
Source:CDC *All figures are based on U.S. statistics.

The bad news about physical inactivity*

More than 300,000 deaths each year are attributed to overweight and physical inactivity. Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

In 1999, 61% of adults were overweight. Source:CDC

In 1999, 18.9% of Americans were obese (BMI of 30 kg/m2 or greater). Source: Mokdad, A., et. al. Journal of the American Medical Association, 2000. ©2001 Wellness Councils of America

25% of all adults are not physically active at all, and 60% don’t get the recommended amount of activity. Source: CDC & A Report of the Surgeon General. Physical Activity and Health At-A-Glance 1996.

Physical inactivity has been established as a major risk factor for heart disease: Source:American Heart Association (AHA)

• coronary heart disease…killing 460,000 of the 12 million affected each year. Source: AHA & Healthy People 2010

• stroke…killing 158,000 of the 600,000 that occur each year. Source:Healthy People 2010

• high blood pressure…killing 44,345 people and contributing to approximately 210,000 deaths in 1998. Source:AHA

• high blood cholesterol…affects over 100 million people. Source:AHA

In 1995, the economic cost of obesity was estimated to be almost $100 billion. Source:CD

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