by Liv Miller, student in the Spring 2025 UVM Public Communications class.
As a full-time college student, I know how important it is to incorporate physical activity in my life. Between classes, part-time jobs, internships, and more, it is easy to take for granted the importance of maintaining my physical health. However, I know I am not alone in this struggle, as millions of Americans fail to achieve the recommended amount of exercise recommended by leading health experts.
In today’s society, physical activity is increasingly important, as it is equipped with both short-term and long-term health benefits. However, as everyday means of movement such as walking and biking start to give way to more sedentary modes of transportation, such as driving to work, many Americans have started to neglect their physical health. Instead, many opt for a more hands off and convenient lifestyle, including driving to work, participating in Netflix marathons, bed rotting, and more. It should be noted, though, that Americans should not solely be blamed for these practices, as many of these modern activities have risen due to the “age of convenience.”
While the act of participating in physical movement has staggeringly dwindled (especially since the COVID-19 pandemic), the benefits of physical movement on the body have remained. For instance, regular physical movement can help adults lose and/or maintain weight. Assuming one changes eating habits healthily and appropriately, American adults can lose any unwanted weight and keep it off! In addition to weight loss/maintenance, physical movement can help prevent and reduce a number of common health risks, such as cardiovascular disease and cancer. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website states that heart disease and stroke, the two biggest causes of death in the United States, can be combated by reaching the recommended 150 minutes of moderate physical activity. Other health benefits include a reduction in the risk of Type 2 Diabetes, infectious diseases (such as influenza, pneumonia, and coronavirus), and some common cancers.
Another notable insight from the CDC reveals that the average American adult requires 150 minutes of moderate physical activity a week (running, swimming, etc) as well as two days of muscle-strengthening activity (weight lifting, calisthenics, etc). In startling contrast, less than half of Americans (46.9%) meet the Physical Activity Guidelines for aerobic physical activity, while even fewer meet the same guidelines for both aerobic physical activity and muscle-strengthening activity (24.2%). Not only do these statistics reveal America’s dwindling level of physical activity, but they also indicate the fact that more Americans need to be made aware of why physical movement is so important to their overall health and quality of life.
According to an article by SpringerNature, “The mastery of fundamental movement skills (FMS) has been purported as contributing to children’s physical, cognitive and social development...” In other words, when children are engaged in physical activity from an early age, they develop important skills crucial to their overall development, helping them reach physical success in adulthood. For example, engagement in common childhood activities and settings such as sports, playgrounds, gym classes/physical education, and more can sharpen the skills children need to succeed.
While fundamental for growth and development, the health benefits children receive from regular physical movement include those of physical activity in adults. For instance, physically active children are at lower risk for type 2 diabetes, have lower blood pressure/cholesterol levels, and have a lower chance of becoming overweight. Regular physical activity can also help children sleep better, giving them a better advantage when it comes to taking on everyday challenges and activities such as school and extracurriculars.
As aforementioned, trends such as bed rotting, doomscrolling, Netflix binging, and more have exacerbated the nation’s overall health crisis. The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey suggests that Americans spend, on average, 7.7 hours a day being sedentary. Although little is known about the impacts of sedentary behavior, it is recommended that individuals try to engage in some sort of physical activity daily. For example, it may be more conducive to one’s health to doomscroll on TikTok whilst on a treadmill, or even (while taking safety precautions) outside on a walk. That being said, there is no substitute for getting exercise in the great outdoors, whether you take a hike or bike around the city!
References
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/exercise.htm
https://medium.com/@uzairnrdn/age-of-convenience
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0033062021000037
https://www.washingtonian.com/2012/05/10/how-much-do-americans-really-exercise/
https://link.springer.com/article/10.2165/11536850-000000000-00000
https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/jpah/18/10/article-p1181.xml