FRIDAY, July 26, 2019 (HealthDay News) — Since publication of the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans (PAG) in 2008, there has been no increase in adherence to aerobic activity guidelines, while sedentary time has increased, according to a study published online July 26 in JAMA Network Open.
Yang Du, M.D., from the University of Iowa in Iowa City, and colleagues examined the concurrent changing trends in adherence to the PAG for aerobic activity and sedentary behavior for U.S. adults from 2007 to 2016. Data were obtained from a series of studies of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys for 27,343 participants aged 18 years or older.
The researchers observed no significant change in the weighted adherence rate to the PAG for aerobic activity from 2007-2008 to 2015-2016 (63.2 to 65.2 percent). Over time, there was a significant increase in time spent on sedentary behavior, from a weighted mean of 5.7 hours per day in 2007 to 2008 to 6.4 hours per day in 2015 to 2016. From 2007-2008 to 2015-2016, there was an increase in the weighted proportion of people not adhering to the PAG for aerobic activity and reporting long sedentary time (more than six hours), from 16.1 to 18.8 percent.
“Future nationwide efforts may be warranted to promote physical activity and reduce sedentary time in U.S. adults,” the authors write.
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