The statistics of physical inactivity in the U.S. are staggering: according to Healthy People 2020, approximately 36% of adults do not engage in any leisure-time physical activity. Men and women who engage in regular physical activity experience statistically significant and clinically important reductions in the risk of dying from coronary heart disease, the leading cause of death in the U.S. Researchers from Florida Atlantic University (Florida, USA) warn that a lack of physical activity among Americans poses important clinical, public health and fiscal challenges for the nation. “Lack of physical activity accounts for 22 percent of coronary heart disease, 22 percent of colon cancer, 18 percent of osteoporotic fractures, 12 percent of diabetes and hypertension, and 5 percent of breast cancer,” comments co-author Charles H. Hennekens. “Furthermore, physical inactivity accounts for about 2.4 percent of U.S. healthcare expenditures or approximately $24 billion a year.”
