More Than 1 in 4 Adults Get No Regular Exercise, Study Shows

"Inactivity increased with age: among people aged 75 years or older, the prevalence was 35.3% (95% CI, 34.5 - 36.1), compared with 26.9% (95% CI, 26.3 - 27.5) among people aged 65 to 74 years and 25.4% (95% CI, 25.0 - 25.9) among those aged 50 to 64 years.

There was a marked inverse relationship between physical activity and educational level. The prevalence of inactivity was highest among people with less than a high school degree, at 44.1% (95% CI, 42.7 - 45.4); it decreased progressively for high school graduates (34.7%; 95% CI, 34.0 - 35.3) and people with some college (24.6%; 95% CI, 24.0 - 25.2), and reached a low of 14.2% (95% CI, 13.8-14.7) among those with a college degree.

Inactivity was more prevalent among Hispanics (32.7%; 95% CI, 31.0 - 34.5) and non-Hispanic blacks (33.1%; 95% CI, 31.8 - 34.3) than non-Hispanic whites (26.2%; 95% CI, 25.9 - 26.5) or people of other races or ethnicities (27.1%; 95% CI, 24.9 - 29.5). It was also higher among people who were obese, defined as having a body mass index (BMI) of at least 30 kg/m² (35.8%; 95% CI, 35.1 - 36.4), compared with those with a BMI <25.0 kg/m² (23.1%; 95% CI, 22.5 - 23.7).

Inactivity was also more prevalent among those with chronic illness. This was especially the case with COPD (44.4%; 95% CI, 43.3 - 45.5) vs 25.6% (95% CI, 25.2 - 25.9) among people without COPD, and stroke (42.9%; 95% CI, 41.3 - 44.5), vs 26.7% (95% CI, 26.3 - 27.0) among people with no history of stroke."