A report by researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that approximately one third of US adults did not report meeting minimum levels of aerobic physical activity as defined by the 2008 Guidelines. The report was published in the Dec. 5 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, a publication of the CDC.

In October, the Department of Health and Human Services released the new “Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans,” the most comprehensive guide ever based on the first through review of scientific research about physical activity and health in more than a decade. According to it, Americans were highly recommended 150 minutes of physical activity a week, or 75 minutes of vigorous activity, as a way to prevent a range of health problems such as obesity, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, colon cancer, breast cancer, osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s disease, depression, and the list could go on.

The “Healthy People 2010” objectives, also released by the US Department of Health and Human Services, recommend a half hour of moderate activity at least five days a week or a vigorous 20-minute workout three times weekly.

Now the CDC report found that overall, 64.5 percent of respondents in 2007 reported meeting the guidelines – 68.9 percent of men and 60.4 percent of women. Approximately one-third of U.S. adults didn't report meeting minimum levels of aerobic physical activity as defined by the 2008 guidelines.

The CDC used a telephone survey of 399,107 US adults aged 18 and older who took part in the 2007 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey. The report showed a difference in the levels of physical activity depending on education, race, and region. Therefore, rates of physical activity were lower for non-Hispanic blacks (56.5 percent) than for non-Hispanic whites (67.5 percent). Also, rates were lowest for those with less than a high school diploma (52.2 percent) and highest for college graduates (70.3 percent). When it comes to region, rates were lowest in the South (62.3 percent) and highest in the West (67.8 percent).

The same report found that only 48.8 percent of the same respondents met the more rigorous Healthy People 2010 objectives (50.7 percent of men and 47 percent of women).

“Additional efforts are needed to further increase physical activity,” the report concluded.

According to the latest statistics of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, obesity is continuously growing in the US, affecting more than one in four adults. While in 2005, 23.9 percent of US adults were obese or had a body mass index greater than 30, in 2007, the percentage had grown to 25.6 percent. This percentage translates in more than 60 million adults. Both poor diet and a lack of exercise are blamed.

When it comes to kids, the situation is even worse. About a third are overweight and 16 percent are obese, a situation that is getting out of control, as the calories in their favorite foods keep going through the roof and as schools are decreasing the amount of recess and gym time. According to a recent study, by the time they reach high school, fewer than a third of teens are getting an hour of activity a day. In their case, brisk activities for at least an hour a day are recommended, the guidelines concluded.