INDIANAPOLIS — Hoosiers are not at the top of the chart when in comes to physical activity. A release from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday reports about 28.5% of Hoosier adults being inactive.
Indiana is certainly not alone as more than one in five adults are inactive in all but four states. America's overall inactivity sits at 25.3%.
"Getting enough physical activity could prevent 1 in 10 premature deaths," said Ruth Petersen, MD, director of CDC’s Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity. "Too many people are missing out on the health benefits of physical activity such as improved sleep, reduced blood pressure and anxiety, lowered risk for heart disease, several cancers, and dementia."
The study asked participants if, in the past month, they did any physical activity outside of work. Some of the examples of exercising include running, calisthenics, golf, gardening or walking. Someone who responded "no" was listed as inactive.
The CDC also broke down the data based on race. Here are the results of Indiana's demographics:
- Asian adults: 19.2% of participants were inactive
- White adults: 27.8% of participants were inactive
- Black adults: 31.4% or participants were inactive
- Hispanic adults: 35.5% of participants were inactive
- American Indian or Alaska Native adults: 34.7% of participants were inactive.
The least active states include Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma and West Virginia. The most active are Colorado, Utah, Washington and Vermont.