2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans At-A-Glance

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

2

Physical Activity has a Profound Effect Upon Health Physical activity is one of the most

important steps people can take for their health.

3

Background

Americans are largely inactive. Many opportunities for physical activity

have been engineered out of daily life.

4

”“The Federal Government published

comprehensive Physical Activity

Guidelines for Americans for the first

time in 2008

Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans

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Aims of the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans Stem the tide toward inactivity and its

consequences Move toward a prevention oriented

society

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What Is New About the Guidelines?

First major science review in more than a decade.

Include a range of activity: “The more you do, the more benefits you gain.”

Specify a total amount of activity per week. People can design their own way to meet the Guidelines.

Address Americans over the age of 6 and specific subgroups.

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Major Research Findings

Regular activity reduces risk of many adverse health outcomes

Some activity is better than none Added health benefits generally occur as

amount of activity increases Most health benefits require at least 2

hours and 30 minutes (150 minutes) a week of moderate-intensity physical activity

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Major Research Findings (cont.) Aerobic & muscle-strengthening activity

are beneficial Health benefits apply to people of all

types, sizes, and ages Health benefits occur for people with

disabilities Physical activity can be done safely.

Benefits far outweigh possible risks.

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Benefits of Physical Activity

Adults who participate in any amount of physical activity gain some health benefits.

A total of 2 hours and 30 minutes (150 minutes) a week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity substantially reduces the risk of many chronic diseases and other adverse health outcomes.

As a person moves from 2 hours and 30 minutes (150 minutes) a week toward 5 hours (300 minutes) a week, he or she gains additional health benefits.

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Does Everyone Need the Same Amount of Physical Activity? The amount and type of activity needed

depends on: age; and special conditions

Many choices—“Be Active Your Way” means meeting the guidelines based on setting personal goals.

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Key Guidelines – Children and Adolescents (ages 6–17) 1 hour (60 minutes) or more of daily

physical activity that is at least moderate: Most of the 1 or more hours a day should be

either moderate- or vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity.

Do vigorous-intensity physical activity at least 3 days a week.

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Key Guidelines – Children and Adolescents (ages 6-17) (cont.)

As part of 1 or more hours of daily physical activity, include muscle-strengthening activities at least 3 days a week.

As part of 1 or more hours of daily physical activity, include bone-strengthening activities at least 3 days a week.

It is important to encourage young people to participate in physical activities that are age appropriate, enjoyable, and offer variety.

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Key Guidelines – Adults (ages 18–64) Minimum levels a week

2 hours and 30 minutes (150 minutes) moderate-intensity aerobic activity; or

1 hour and 15 minutes (75 minutes) vigorous-intensity aerobic activity; or

An equal combination Muscle-strengthening activities that

involve all major muscle groups should be performed on 2 or more days of the week.

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Key Guidelines – Adults (ages 18–64) (cont.) For additional health benefits

5 hours (300 minutes) moderate-intensity aerobic activity a week; or

2 hours and 30 minutes (150 minutes) vigorous-intensity aerobic activity a week; or

An equivalent combination

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Key Guidelines – Older Adults (ages 65 years and older) Follow adult guidelines. When not possible,

be as physically active as abilities and conditions allow.

Do exercises that maintain or improve balance if at risk for falling.

Those without chronic conditions and symptoms (e.g., chest pain or pressure, dizziness, or joint pain) do not need to consult a health care provider about physical activity.

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Additional Considerations

Other subgroups of the population in thePhysical Activity Guidelines for Americans

include: Persons with disabilities Women during pregnancy and the

postpartum period Adults with selected chronic conditions

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Physical Activity Guidelines

For all individuals, some activity is better than none. More is better.

For fitness benefits, aerobic activity should be episodes of at least 10 minutes.

Physical activity is safe for almost everyone. The health benefits of physical activity far outweigh the risks.

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What About Using Daily Activity Instead of Weekly for Adults? The current Guidelines recommend a

total amount of aerobic activity time per week.

The recommendation of doing 30 minutes of moderate physical activity on 5 days a week is one way to meet the minimum amount recommended.

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What About Most People Who are Inactive? People Getting Started Should: Do what they can and then look for ways to

do more. Pick an activity they like that fits their lifestyle. Get support from friends & family. Gradually build up over time. Add more time,

then more days before increasing intensity of activity.

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How Can You Get Involved?

Sign up as a Supporter & help spread the word about the Physical Activity Guidelines.

Receive a toolkit filled with outreach information.

Be listed as a Supporter on the official Physical Activity Guidelines Web site.

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For More Information

www.health.gov/paguidelines

www.healthfinder.gov (Get Active)

Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee

Evidence of

need for different physical activity recommendations based on race/ethnicity and/or SES?

Committee Member/Consultant/Liaison

Antronette (Toni) Yancey, MD, MPHUCLA School of Public Health

                      

Shiriki Kumanyika, PhDUniversity of Pennsylvania

David Brown, PhDCenters for Disease Control

Significance Racial/ethnic and SES disparities in obesity and

chronic disease prevalence are robust Racial/ethnic disparities persist across SES

continuum, though race/ethnicity and SES highly confounded

Physical inactivity and sedentary behavior are implicated in these disparities across population subgroups, but racial/ethnic differences in the contribution of physical activity (PA) to obesity or specific disease outcomes have infrequently been systematically examined.

Years of Potential Life Lostby Ethnicity (per 100,000)

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

AfricanAm

AsianAm

Latinos NativeAm

whites

StrokeCancerHeart DiseaseUnint. InjuryDiabetes

Obj. 19-2

Total

White Female

Male

Black Female

Male

Mexican American Female

Male

Target

Adult Obesity: 1988-94 to 1999-2000

0 10 20 30 40 50

Note: Data are for ages 20 years and over, age adjusted to the 2000 standard population. Obesity is defined as BMI >= 30.0. Black and white exclude persons of Hispanic origin. Persons of Mexican-American origin may be any race.Source: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, NCHS, CDC.

Percent

1988-94Race/Ethnicity

Growth in Childhood Obesity Disparities

1984-88 (bottom) to 2003-04 (top)

Questions:What types of differences could there be and what would they mean?

Differences in the energy cost of PA, such that some ethnic groups appear to derive lesser benefits for weight maintenance at the same level of PA because of racial differences in body morphology &, consequently, BMR (e.g., Ravussin et al., 1998)

Differences created by the influence of baseline PA, such that different approaches are necessary for ethnic groups having farther to go to reach PA goals, e.g., because of increased difficulty or exertion (e.g., Hunter et al., 2004)

Hunter, Weinsier, Zuckerman et al. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2004 28(9):1111-7.Ravussin, Lillioja, Knowler et al. N Engl J Med. 1988;318(8):467-72.

Questions:What types of differences could there be and what would they mean? (cont.)

Differences created by the influence of baseline physical inactivity or overweight status, such that different approaches are necessary for ethnic groups having farther to go to reach the goal, e.g., because of increased difficulty or exertion (e.g., Hunter et al., 2004)

Hunter, Weinsier, Zuckerman et al. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2004

28(9):1111-7.

Questions:What types of differences could there be and what would they mean? (cont.)

Differences in adherence (adoption, maintenance, resumption) to various types of PA, with implications for long-term sustainability and weight stability, as a result of different cultural values and preferences, environmental exposures, and social (in)justice issues (Estabrooks et al., 2003; Wolch et al., 2005; Day, 2006; Yancey et al., 2006b).

Day. J Am Planning Assoc 2006; 72(1): 88-99.Estabrooks, Lee, Gyurcsik. Ann Behav Med. 2003;25:100-4.Wolch, Wilson, Fehrenbach. Urban Geography 2005;26(1):4-35.Yancey, Ory, Davis. Am J Prev Med 2006;31(4S):82-91.

Questions:What types of differences could there be and what would they mean? (cont.)

Differences in accuracy of measurement of PA, i.e. inability of activity monitoring devices (e.g., device wearing time, equations/algorithms) or survey assessment tools (e.g., definition, interpretation, patterns) to adequately capture range or intensities of activities, such that research studies are unable to discern real differences in energy expenditure (Ainsworth et al., 2000; Whitt et al., 2003; 2004).

Ainsworth, Haskell, Whitt et al. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2000 Sep;32(9 Suppl):S498-504.Whitt M, Kumanyika S, Bellamy S. Amount and bouts of physical activity in a sample of African-

American women. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2003 Nov;35(11):1887-93.Whitt MC, DuBose KD, Ainsworth B, Tudor-Locke C. Walking patterns in a sample of African

American, Native American, and Caucasian women: the cross-cultural activity participation study. Health Educ Behav. 2004 Aug;31(4 Suppl):45S-56S.

Literature Review

Gibson, Kirk and colleagues (2005): 86% of 231 articles in a meta-analysis of RCTs examining the effects of diet and exercise on weight- and fitness-related outcomes did not report race/ethnicity, compared with 11% and 4%, respectively, failing to report age and gender.

Studies that do not report race/ethnicity have overwhelmingly white samples.

Gibson, Kirk, LeCheminant et al. BMC Med Res Methodol 2005;5(1):9.

Literature ReviewYancey, Kumanyika and colleagues (2004): 600+ population-based inclusive PA and/or healthy nutrition

promotion or obesity control interventions published between 1970 and 2003

Selection criteria for literature review—US, targeted to ethnic minority group or inclusive of sufficient sample to permit ethnic-specific analyses

Various search strategies identified 23 studies implemented between 1972 and May 2003

Only 5 articles that targeted a “general audience” presented subgroup analyses by race/ethnicity

18 studies targeted one or more racial/ethnic minority groups; 9 of these resulted from a single CDC-funded California state health department initiative

Yancey, Kumanyika, Ponce et al., Prev Chronic Dis, 2004; 1:1-18 [E-pub].

Lesser Effectiveness of Key Environmental Interventions in

Underserved Groups: Culturally unacceptable strategy or poor marketing?

Posting of Signs Promoting Stair Usage1998 Overall, stair use increased from 4.8% to 6.9%, 7.2%,

depending upon which of 2 signs used Among whites, increased from 5.1% to 7.5%, 7.8% Among blacks, changed from 4.1% to 3.4%, 5.0% Among n’l wt, inc from 5.4% to 7.2%, 6.9% Among overwt, inc from 3.8% to 6.3%, 7.8%2006 Sign cult. targeting blacks worked in blacks & whitesAndersen, Franckowiak, Snyder et al., Ann Int Med, 1998;129:363-369.

MethodsUnwieldy to even find relevant evidence—for example: Energy balance search strategy employed by the CDC

generated 236 articles yielded 16, and PubMed generated 400 articles, yielding an additional 8.

Criteria—1) targeting an ethnic minority group or including subgroup analyses by ethnicity, not simply treating race/ethnicity as co-variate and adjusting for it; and 2) specifying the racial/ethnic minority groups included in the analyses, not aggregating in the analyses as “non-white;” and 3) having n >30 or at least 30 participants per study arm; and 4) having a “general audience” sample; and, if applicable, 5) physical activity was the dominant intervention component. 

Race/ethnicity: Paucity of Evidence

Few studies targeting ethnic minorities were population-based, and very few compared racial/ethnic groups. Thus, findings may not be representative even of subgroups with similar socio-demographic characteristics.

There were disproportionately few studies of Latinos, currently the largest US minority group, and even fewer studies of American Indians, with their tremendous intra-ethnic heterogeneity from disparate tribal affiliations.

There were disproportionately few studies of Asian/ Pacific Islanders, especially given the heterogeneity by national origin. Most were non-domestic, introducing further contextual complexity.

Manson, et al. NEJM. 2002

00.10.20.30.40.50.60.70.80.9

1

White Black

1

2

3

4

5

LTPA and CVD in Women Women’s Health Initiative

RR

Quintile

0

5

10

15

20

25

WOMEN MEN ALL

WHITE

BLACK

Change in Aerobic Capacity in Response to Endurance TrainingChange in Aerobic Capacity in Response to Endurance Training HERITAGE Study of Black and White Men and WomenHERITAGE Study of Black and White Men and Women

Percent Change in % VO2 max (ml/kg/min)%∆

Skinner, et al. JAP.90:1770, 2001

N = 435 N = 195

20 weeks, 3x/week55-75% VO2 max30-50 min/sessionCycle ergometer

Church, T. S. et al. JAMA 2007;297:2081-2091.

Change in Peak Absolute Oxygen Uptake for Each Exercise Group

White Race Yes No

-2.5

-2

-1.5

-1

-0.5

0

0.5

1

1.5

BW WW BM WM

∆ Kg/year

Change in Body Weight in Relation to Change in Physical Activityin Black and White Women & Men : CARDIA

Subjects with 75 percentile of baseline BMI

≥200 Exercise Units of Activity/week(about 2 hours/week @ 6+ METS)

Schmitz, et al. Int. J. Obesity 24:1475, 2000.

All P<0.005

Race/ethnicity: Conclusions There is insufficient evidence to conclude that PA

recommendations should be different for different racial/ethnic or SES groups

Most individuals from ethnic/gender and/or lower SES groups are relatively sedentary and overweight, such that the benefits of integrating small amounts of PA during the workday and school day should be explored because of promising but preliminary practice-based evidence of such benefits as decreased anxiety, weight stabilization, and injury prevention (e.g., Lara et al., 2008; IOM, 2006; Yancey et al., 2006; Mahar et al., 2006; Crawford et al., 2004; Pohjonen & Ranta, 2001; Pronk et al., 1995)

Pronk SJ, Pronk NP, Sisco A, Ingalls DS, Ochoa C. Am J Health Promot 1995;9(3):175-8.Crawford, Gosliner et al. Am J Pub Health 2004; 94:1480-1485Pohjonen T, Ranta R. Prev Med. Jun 2001;32(6):465-475.IOM. Progress in preventing childhood obesity—how do we measure up? Washington D.C.: NAS, 2006.Mahar MT, Murphy SK, Rowe DA, Golden J, Shields AT, Raedeke TD. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2006;38(12):2086-94.Yancey, Lewis, Guinyard et al. Health Prom Prac 2006; 7(3):233S-246SLara, Yancey, Tapia-Conyer et al. Prev Chr Dis 2008 Jan;5(1):A12 Epub [serial online]

Race/ethnicity: Recommendations

Federally-funded studies should be powered to include sufficient representation of at least one ethnic/minority or lower SES population, with sufficient sample size to permit subgroup analyses by race/ethnicity or SES. Strict exemption criteria should be rigorously applied.

Race/ethnicity: Recommendations

Cultural proficiency of recruitment and retention approaches and adequacy of resources directed toward recruitment and retention should be scrutinized by grant review committee members with special expertise in this area, similar to the separate assessments of adequacy of study methods and analytical approaches by review committee statisticians.

Race/ethnicity: Recommendations

Federal program officers should manage and balance their portfolios to ensure that racial/ethnic differences in PA-related exposures and outcomes are under active investigation, utilizing RFAs and other mechanisms to direct funding toward disparities examination and elimination.

Race/ethnicity: Recommendations

Journals should require reporting of race/ethnicity, gender and SES of sample in the abstract as well as the body of the text.

Subgroup analyses should be requested when sample size is sufficient, and further data dis-aggregation encouraged to examine interactions between socio-demographic characteristics, e.g., gender-ethnicity, SES-ethnicity.

Race/ethnicity: Recommendations

Abstraction databases should include search criteria that permit ascertainment of inclusiveness, i.e. subgroup analyses by race/ethnicity or SES.

Lift Off! LA / Instant Recess™

American College of Preventive MedicineFebruary 12, 2009

Disseminating Evidence-Based Intervention:

Incorporating brief PA bouts into organizational routine 7 examples in different settings: 5 “efficacy”

local health dept—Fuel Up/Lift Off! LA, LA Countystate health dept—FitWIC, CA DHSfederal agency—Pausa para tu salud, Mexican Ministry school—Take 10!, Energizers, CATCHprivate corp.—Westinghouse, LL Bean

2 adoption/implementationCBOs—REACH 2010, Community Health CouncilsFBOs—Health-e-AME Physical-e-Fit, USCschools/sports stadiums—PAC’s Instant Recess, Padres FriarFit

Lift Offs Feasible & Effective: the Rapidly Growing Evidence Base

Documented individual and organizational receptivity to integrating PA on paid work time

Contribute meaningfully to daily accumulation of MVPA Motivational “teachable moment” linking sedentariness to

health status for inactive folks Improvements in clinical outcomes from as little as one

10-min. break/day—BP, BMI, WC, CRF, mood, attention span, cumulative trauma disorders

“Spill-over” or generalization to increase active leisure Workplace benefits: favorable cost-benefit ratio, ↓HC

costs School benefits: improve concentration, attention span,

test scores; decrease disruptiveness, RN visits

LAC Fitness & Wellness Study:Design

Randomized, controlled, post-test only, intervention trial testing the effects of incorporation of a 10-min exercise break into staff meetings & training seminars lasting > 1 hr

Outcome measures: (1) participation by sedentary/overweight individuals; (2) mood/affect; (3) satisfaction with health status/fitness level

26 meetings (11 intervention, 15 control) with 449 county employees, mostly women of color

LAC Fitness & Wellness Study:Results (cont.)

More than 90% of meeting attendees participated in the exercises

Among relatively sedentary participants: Intervention participants’ satisfaction with fitness levels

more highly correlated with PA stage of change (r=0.59) than controls (r=0.38, z=-2.32, p=0.02)

Among sedentary participants: Intervention participants’ self-perceived health status

ratings were significantly lower than controls (OR=0.17; 95% CI=0.05, 0.60; p=.0003

Yancey, McCarthy, Taylor et al. 2004;38:848-856

Pausa para tu SaludMexican Ministry of Health

Mexico City 10-15 minute exercise breaks to music

broadcast thru intercom system Mandatory (could do at desks if uncomfortable

in gp, but supervisors had to do it with them Secondary data analysis of data collected

annually on all employees Not study volunteers—75% retention at 1 year) 1 kg weight loss (0.4 kg/m2) + 1.6 cm “waist”

loss after 1 year

California Fit WIC Staff Wellness TrainingSignificant findings: Increased perceived workplace support for staff PA (96 vs

58%, p=0.002) and healthy food choices (85 vs 28%, p=0.001)

Change in types of foods served during meetings (72 vs 24%, p=0.002) & PA priority in workplace (96 vs 71%, p<0.02)

Increased self-reported counseling behaviors with WIC parents promoting physical activity (64 vs 35%, p<.05) & sensitivity in handling weight-related issues (92 vs 58%, p<0.01)

Crawford, Gosliner, Strode et al., AJPH, 2004;94:1480-1485

WIC Staff Wellness Training

REACH 2010 African Americans Building a Legacy of Health:Organizational wellness outcome evaluation

Participants: 35 organizations, >700 staff/ members/clients, 1o overwt./obese black women

Measures: Primary dependent—BMI; Secondary—affect, F+V intake, PA level

Results (post-intervention f/u):12-week intervention—dec. feelings of

sadness/depression (p=0.00), inc. F+V (+0.5 svgs, p=0.00), marginally dec. BMI (-0.5 kg/m2 , p=0.08)

6-week intervention (shortened & re-tooled to decrease attrition & inc. uptake)—increased #days in which participants engaged in vigorous PA (+0.3 days, p=0.00)

Yancey, Lewis, Guinyard et al., Health Prom Prac, 2006;7(3):233S-246S

REACH US Center of Excellence in the Elimination of Disparities: Conceptual Framework

“Recess” at the Orange Co. HCA

Instant Recess™ Developed for Professional Athletes Council Colorful labels or trading discs similar to kids’ trading cards DVD/CD package tool kit to help educators re-integrate

“recess” or PA enjoyment back into school day 10 minutes of athlete-led group activity experiences or brief

structured exercise bouts involving simple aerobic/resistance movements to music, using split-screen or picture-in-picture technique to feature “Ask-the-Doc,” “Chef Dave,” and other fruit & vegetable promotion segments

Emphasizes not only the importance of physical activity and eating nutritious foods, but also, more subtly, academic excellence and goal-setting

Instant Recess

Pre-testing at the Champion charter school in Phoenix, AZ—comments from teachers:

“feasible to use daily because helps kids settle down after lunch”

“kids, girls especially, perform better in PE class because IR exercises build their confidence”

“kids taking ownership and bringing their own music”

“Think You Got Moves?” contest

Friar Fit Instant Recess™Evaluation

66

67

Samuels & Associates staff observed the activity levels of

people in the park 10 minutes before,

during, and after Instant Recess

Their activity level was recorded on a

scale of 1 (sitting) to 4 (very active) every

10 seconds

Observed physical activity levels

68

Individual activity levels were recorded according to the following scale: (1) Sitting/Lying down, (2) Standing/Slow walking, (3) Brisk Walk, (4) Very Active, and (0) Unobservable

NCMHHD-funded R24UCLA-LAC DPH collaborative CBPR project

Study Design 3-armed, group-randomized, wait-list controlled

study design. “Cohort” Design

Sites were recruited, block randomized, and exposed to the intervention in 3 rolling cohorts of 9, 12, and 9 sites, respectively.

Recruitment Mechanism of recruitment: word-of-mouth,

professional networks, direct solicitation of organizational leaders

Sites enrolled that fit selection criteria and agreed to terms of the intervention (MOU).

Study Design, cont’d Randomization Process

Sites matched for target ethnic/gender composition, size, type of site (private vs. public)

Random number generator randomization into 3 treatment groups:

CONTROL : Wait listed, i.e. intervention delayed for 6 months

STANDARD: Strategies & materials focused on physical activity (PA) only.

COMPREHENSIVE: PA and healthy eating promotion.

Study Design, cont’d Baseline/Follow-up Assessments

Worksite Wellness Assessment: Instrument adapted from NY State “Heart Check”. Completed by representatives of 3 levels of organizational hierarchy—top level/CEO/ED, mid-management, support/line staff.

Individual Participant Questionnaire: Self-report survey completed by each participating employee.

Anthropomorphic Assessment: Research staff data collection from each participating employee—WC, BMI, syst. BP, CRF (heart rate recovery)

Assessments at baseline and 6-month follow-up.

Methods: Sample Organizational Level

Twenty-five (n=25) health and human services organizations (work units or sites) throughout southern and eastern Los Angeles

Private, non-profit community based organization (CBO) and Los Angeles County Dept. of Public Health work units

Work units of 10-50 staff members eligible for participation (enrollment mean=16; range 10-35)

Individual Level Full-time employees from each worksite were solicited for

voluntary participation Random selection of interested participants from each

worksite was attempted, but unsuccessful, producing convenience samples of 20%-80% of workers in a given site

  Frequency Percent N

Female 351 89.77 391

HS grad or less 33 8.50 388

Some college 133 34.80 388

BA or higher 124 31.96 388

American Indian 7 1.81 386

African American 161 41.71 386

Asian 42 10.88 386

Latino 141 36.53 386

White 37 9.59 386

Other* 18 4.66 386

Never married 106 27.60 384

Single**      

Married / as married 198 51.56 384

Not born in U.S. 116 29.82 389

Non-English pref. 176 46.07 382

Measure* MeanStandardDeviation N

Age 43.50 11.32 386

Weight (kg) 79.54 19.59 396

Height (cm) 162.47 8.64 399

BMI 30.06 6.63 396

Waist size over clothes (cm) 92.34 15.10 390

Waist size (cm)*** 90.54 15.01 379

Systolic BP (mm) 120.38 18.53 393

Diastolic BP (mm) 79.13 10.93 393

Sample Baseline Demographics

391 participants from 25 sites

Predominantly female (89.77%)

Majority African American and Latino (78.24%)

Mean age = 43.5 yrs Mean BMI = 30.0 Mean WC = 90.5 cm

(35.6 in)

*Other includes Middle Eastern

** Single is not an option on the survey

***Waist circumference measured against skin; values imputed for 167 cases

Pilot Study Outcomes:Cohort 3

Follow-up sample: N=130 individual participants 8 work units: 6 intervention, 2 control

Preliminary findings: BP (mm Hg) — I ↓1.3, C ↑1.2, effect size=-

2.5 BMI (kg/m2)—I ↑0.01, C ↑0.4, effect size=-0.4