Updated Data On Physical Activity

January 12, 2021/Ken Mcleod

The Covid-19 pandemic has shined a harsh light on the danger of underlying conditions that leave people vulnerable to diseases. Many of the underlying conditions associated with poor outcomes, up to and including death, from Covid-19 are chronic conditions that research shows can be addressed through physical activity.

Places where people bike and walk to work tend to have higher rates of people getting their recommended amount of aerobic physical activity, and lower rates of chronic diseases associated with physical inactivity. The updated data continues to show that correlation. On average, large cities have seen rates of physical activity increase in recent years while states have seen a small decline.

Promoting physical activity is at the heart of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s Active People Healthy Nation initiative. Through data.bikeleague.org, the League of American Bicyclists is proud to be a part of this initiative to get 27 million Americans more physically active by 2027.

With the release of new data from the CDC’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, data.bikeleague.org now has updated data on physical activity, obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, and asthma. The CDC recommends that people get 150 minutes of moderate aerobic physical activity each week, and research has shown that even short periods of physical activity have immediate benefits.

Places where people bike and walk to work tend to have higher rates of people getting their recommended amount of aerobic physical activity, and lower rates of chronic diseases associated with physical inactivity. The updated data continues to show that correlation. On average, large cities have seen rates of physical activity increase in recent years while states have seen a small decline.

Using this data, we have updated the following charts on data.bikeleague.org:

States:

  • Physical Activity and Active Commuting
  • Relationship between Physical Activity and Active Commuting
  • Obesity and Active Commuting
  • Diabetes and Active Commuting
  • High Blood Pressure and Active Commuting
  • Asthma and Active Commuting

Large Cities:

  • Physical Activity and Active Commuting
  • Obesity and Active Commuting
  • Diabetes and Active Commuting
  • High Blood Pressure and Active Commuting
  • Asthma and Active Commuting

We hope that this new data is useful for people who want to highlight the contributions of biking and walking to physical activity, and the health benefits of physical activity. The CDC recently released state data maps focused on obesity, highlighting the link between obesity and poor Covid-19 outcomes, which may also be helpful.